THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


FROM  THE  LIBRARY  OF 
ERNEST  CARROLL  MOORE 


HELPS   TO   EDUCATION. 


HELPS  TO  EDUCATION 


HOMES    OF    OUR    COUNTRY. 


WARREN   BURTON, 

Al THOR    OF    "  TUB    DISTRICT    SCHOOL    AS    IT    WAS. 


BOSTON : 

CROSBY     AND     NICHOLS, 

117,  WASHINGTON  STREET. 

1863. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1803, 

BY   WARREN    BURTON, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


if  o  S  T  O  N  : 
'KINTF.D    I1Y    JOHN    \Vll.SoX    &    SON, 

•r>,     W.XTKI!      STIIKKT. 


E«L/Psyrh. 
Uhrary 


3 

6 

PREFACE. 


THE  most  difficult  as  well  as  the  most  important  work 
on  earth  is  the  wise  education  of  children.  Parents, 
will  you  kindly  accept  the  following  counsels  from  a 
sincere  and  earnestly  devoted  friend  ?  May  they  make 
good,  in  some  appreciable  degree,  the  homely  Saxon 
word  placed  first  on  the  titlepage ! 

Opportunity  is  now  taken  to  explain  to  friends,  that, 
during  the  last  two  years,  infirm  health  has  kept  me 
from  the  educational  field  in  which  I  had  been  exclu- 
sively working  for  ten  years  before ;  or  rather  it  has 
prevented  me,  to  my  keen  regret,  from  the  more 
urgent  duty  of  devoting  myself,  in  some  active  way, 
to  our  present  momentous  cause.  In  the  mean  time, 
as  strength  would  allow,  and  with  many  intermis- 
sions, this  volume  has  been  under  preparation.  It  is, 
I  trust,  a  worthy  service  of  the  Christian  patriot  to 
provide,  even  in  a  small  measure,  against  future  adver- 
sities, public  and  private,  in  our  beloved  country,  by 
laboring  at  those  more  hidden  sources  of  good  and 
evil  which  lie  in  the  shadow  of  its  homes. 

W.   B. 


3010383 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

LECTURE  ON  PARENTAL  RESPONSIBILITY 3 

LECTURE   ON    GOVERNMENT,    MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

No  GOVERNMENT  IN  THE  FAMILY 27 

LECTURE  ON  THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  SELFHOOD  65 

PASSAGES  FROM  A  LECTURE 115 

I.  Gifts 117 

II.  Bad  Companionship 120 

III.  Irritability  of  Temper 123 

IV.  Children  at  Table 127 

SUGGESTIONS  ON  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  OBSERV- 
ING FACULTIES 135 

A  LETTER  FROM  THE  AGENT    OF    THE   MASSACHU- 
SETTS BOARD  OF  EDUCATION 274 

Tories  OF  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 277 

THE  FIRST  KNOWLEDGE  OF  THE  CREATOR.    .    .     .  279 

THE  FIRST  AND  GREAT  COMMANDMENT 293 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

I>«ge. 

THE  CHILD'S  FIRST  IDEAS  OF  JESUS 335 

THE  BIBLE 344 

NOTES 357 

INDEX 359 


NOTE.  —  The  general  heads  of  this  volume  hardly  give 
a  fair  view  of  its  contents.  The  Index,  at  the  close,  shows 
the  items  of  interest  to  be  exceedingly  numerous,  and  of 
great  variety. 


LECTURE 


PARENTAL    RESPONSIBILITY. 


NOT  E. 


THE  statements  and  considerations  in  the  following  Lecture  are 
of  the  most  serious  moment :  indeed,  their  importance  can  hardly 
be  overrated.  Yet  the  hackneyed  title  and  topic,  it  is  feared,  will 
at  once  affect  many  with  a  sense  of  dulness  and  discouragement, 
and  cause  them  to  hasten  beyond  to  what  may  seem  more  inviting. 
In  anticipation  of  this,  a  special  and  earnest  request  is  ventured, 
that  such  persons  would  at  least  make  an  attempt  at  reading.  The 
old  subject  is  here  presented  in  a  manner  somewhat  new  ;  and  it 
is  humbly  hoped  that  the  reader  will  be  interested  and  impressed 
beyond  what  might  be  expected  from  so  trite  a  theme.  If  the  peru- 
sal could  be  made  without  haste,  so  as  to  permit  to  words  their 
fullest  force,  the  little  longer  time  taken  would  hardly  be  regretted. 
This  preliminary  discourse,  so  read,  would  almost  necessarily  better 
prepare  the  mind  for  the  practical  instructions  which  follow. 


LECTUKE 


PARENTAL    RESPONSIBILITY. 


rflHE  chief  purpose  of  this  world  is  the  forma- 
tion and  development  of  man.  Here  he  not 
only  commences  existence,  but  prepares  for  an- 
other world.  In  the  present  condition  of  things, 
this  preparation  is  difficult :  many  think  it  to  be 
doubtful.  The  human  being,  as  now  consti- 
tuted, is,  indeed,  fearfully  as  well  as  wonder- 
fully made.  He  is  a  mysterious  system  of 
capabilities  and  possibilities.  He  is  capable 
of  good,  and  capable  of  evil.  He  may  be  hap- 
py, or  he  may  be  unhappy;  indeed,  exceedingly 
joyous  in  felicity,  or  at  the  utmost  extremity  of 
wretchedness.  He  can  answer  to  the  various 
epithets  of  virtue  and  piety  given  in  the  Sacred 
Word ;  or  he  may  make  applicable  to  himself,  in 
different  degrees,  one  and  another,  and  even 
many,  if  not  all,  of  those  terms  by  which  sin 
against  God,  crime  against  man,  and  the  depra- 


4  PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY. 

vity  of  the  heart,  are  expressed.  To  particular- 
ize :  First,  as  a  little  child,  or  the  larger  youth, 
in  the  family  of  his  birth,  he  may  be  a  precious 
delight  by  his  dispositions,  so  affectionate  and 
generous,  and,  by  his  manners,  so  gentle  and 
winning.  In  school  he  may  be  studious  and  or- 
derly ;  on  the  play- ground,  ingenuous,  sweet- 
tempered,  and  beloved.  Next,  as  an  apprentice 
or  a  clerk,  he  may  be  respectful,  diligent,  honest. 
Then,  as  a  neighbor  and  a  citizen,  he  may  be 
upright,  obliging,  peaceable,  public-spirited.  As 
a  husband  and  a  father,  he  may  make  his  home 
the  best  emblem  and  image  of  very  heaven. 
Toward  the  Divine  Being  he  may  be  reverent 
and  loving,  deeply  but  cheerfully  pious.  In 
short,  he  has  within  his  capacities  that  by 
which,  the  Holy  Spirit  helping,  he  shall  be 
able  to  love  God  with  all  his  heart,  and  his 
neighbor  as  himself.  This  world  may  be  better 
and  happier  for  his  single  life  in  it,  and  heaven 
at  length  be  more  blessed  for  his  single  added 
presence  there.  Such  is  the  human  being  capa- 
ble of  becoming,  if  he  shall  be  properly  cared 
for,  wisely  trained,  adequately  educated. 

But  now  to  particularize  the  opposite  capa- 
bilities and  possibilities :  This  same  human  in- 
fant has  that  within  him,  by  which,  in  his 


PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY.  5 

parental  abode,  he  may  be  ill  -  tempered  and 
disobedient ;  a  very  furnace  of  selfish  passions, 
consuming  his  own  best  good,  and  the  peace 
of  his  nearest,  truest  friends.  At  school  he 
may  be  idle,  unruly,  impudent,  rebellious ;  on 
the  play-ground,  unfair,  testy,  rough,  vulgar, 
profane.  Let  him  become  an  apprentice  at 
a  trade,  or  a  clerk  in  a  store  ;  and  what  then? 
—  unfaithful,  disobedient,  disrespectful,  truth- 
less, rakish.  He  may  purloin  from  his  em- 
ployer to  pay  for  finery,  dainties,  and  other 
extravagances.  At  length,  he  may  sink  into 
dissipation  and  various  dissoluteness,  and  early 
die,  —  a  human  ruin.  But  suppose  him  appa- 
rently to  recover  from  his  sensual  and  spend- 
thrift habits.  He  may  now  enter  the  field  of 
business  for  himself,  to  do  what?  To  cheat  his 
customers,  to  live  on  others'  losses.  Again  :  as 
a  neighbor,  he  may  be  rude,  crabbed,  disobli- 
ging, unfeeling.  As  a  citizen,  he  may  possess 
scarcely  a  single  spark  of  public  spirit.  Self — 
hard,  dark,  unheavenly  self —  is  the  centre  and 
the  circumference  of  all  the  hopes,  fears,  aspi- 
rations, activities,  and  satisfactions  of  his  life. 
But  his  home,  —  should  he  enter  on  married  and 
parental  life, —  what  the  possibilities  here  ?  Ah  ! 
by  sharp -spoken  petulance,  or  lowering  sullen- 


6  PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY. 

ness,  or  by  fierce  outbursts  of  anger,  by  nig- 
gardliness or  tyranny,  by  intemperance  and  other 
depraved  indulgences,  this  choicest,  innermost 
spot  may  be  made  like  unto  that  outer  place  of 
darkness,  and  weeping,  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

Furthermore  :  standing  beside  man's  infancy, 
and  contemplating  the  future,  we  may  in  all 
truth  affirm,  that  possibly  he  shall  plunge  into 
direst  crime,  —  shall  steal,  rob,  murder.  Yes, 
that  little  being,  who  has,  as  yet,  not  entertained 
a  purpose,  a  feeling,  or  a  thought  of  wrong ; 
who  seems,  in  his  present  weakness  and  inno- 
cence, utterly  incapable  of  inflicting  any  sort  of 
pain  on  others, —  that  now  absolutely  harmless 
creature  may,  at  twenty  or  thirty  years  of  age, 
enter  your  window  in  the  darkness  of  midnight, 
and,  during  the  helplessness  of  your  sleep,  grope 
his  way  to  your  goods  or  your  money;  and 
should  you  perchance  be  aroused,  and  attempt 
to  defend  your  property,  he  may  stab  or  shoot 
you  dead  on  the  spot ;  then  murder  your  ago- 
nized, shrieking  wife,  to  prevent  her  alarming 
the  neighborhood  at  the  instant,  or  identifying 
his  person  afterward  as  the  perpetrator  of  the 
crime.  Ah  !  language  fails  to  depict  the  horri- 
ble atrocities  which  lie  within  the  capabilities 
and  possibilities  of  the  man.  This  world  may 


PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY.  7 

be  much  worse  for  his  having  lived  in  it;  and 
the  world  to  come,  —  the  all-seeing  Eye  alone 
can  trace  his  path,  and  discern  his  state,  in  its 
labyrinthine  and  endless  depths.  Along  such  a 
line  of  tendencies,  along  such  a  course  of  im- 
morality, vice,  crime,  enormity,  or,  at  least, 
through  some  one  portion  or  another  of  it,  this 
human  infant  is  likely  to  run,  should  he  be 
neglected,  —  should  he  not  be  properly  trained, 
wisely,  adequately  educated.  Is  it  not  a  mo- 
mentous alternative?  There  is  alarm,  there  is 
terror,  in  the  very  thought  of  the  contingency. 

But  this  is  God's  own  child.  Does  he  leave 
him  unprovided  for,  and  to  his  own  poor,  feeble 
self?  Oh,  no !  his  providence  is  most  faithful. 
Out  of  all  the  rest  of  the  world's  inhabitants  he 
provides  one  man  and  one  woman,  who  are  to 
be  the  very  first,  the  long-continuing,  and  the 
most  responsible  guardians  under  himself.  Of 
all  finite  beings,  they  are  nearest  in  place,  near- 
est in  blood,  and  nearest  in  affection.  In  them, 
indeed,  has  been  implanted  an  instinctive,  pecu- 
liar love,  not  primarily  as  an  especial  gratifica- 
tion to  them,  but  as  insuring  fidelity  to  the 
paternal  Creator,  and  to  this  his  offspring. 
Thus  to  the  earthly  father  and  mother  is  com- 
mitted the  most  dependent  and  the  most  im- 


8  PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY. 

pressible  of  all  animated  things.  They  have 
in  their  hands  the  beginnings  of  a  boundless 
destiny,  folded  up  as  in  a  bud.  They  have 
in  charge  the  wondrous,  the  auspicious  open- 
ing. The  Lord  God  Almighty  calls  and  sets 
apart  these  two  to  this  duty,  as  much  as  if  he 
pointed  down  to  them  with  a  visible  finger, 
and  spoke  in  articulate  thunder  in  the  pre- 
sence of  an  assembled  world.  It  is  the  highest, 
the  most  holy,  calling  of  their  lives.  They 
are  to  be  the  surest  of  all  protectors,  the 
earliest  and  the  most  influential  of  all  educators. 
They  are  to  fit  this  being  for  noblest  virtue  and 
loving  usefulness  in  the  present  life.  They  are 
to  act  sooner  and  to  do  more  than  all  others  to 
fit  him  for  the  life  to  come.  They  are  not  only 
to  teach  and  train,  but  to  rule  as  in  a  realm. 
God's  vicegerents,  they  are  seated  on  the  strong- 
est throne  beneath  all  the  skies :  this  throne  is 
the  earliest  and  tenderest  heart,  the  first,  sweet, 
enduring  love,  of  a  little  child.  If  faithful  to 
their  gentle  sceptre,  all  the  armies  of  earth,  all 
the  hosts  of  hell,  cannot  move  them  therefrom : 
they  are  next  in  power  to  the  Almighty.  Thus, 
more  than  all  others  beneath  the  heavens,  they 
are  the  arbiters  of  time  and  eternity  to  this  im- 
mortal spirit.  Such  is  the  responsibility  of 
parentage. 


PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY.  9 

Now,  can  it  be,  that  in  this  age  of  unparalleled 
mental  light,  and  amid  all  its  various  Christian 
institutions,  these  God-commissioned  guardians, 
guides,  and  rulers  shall  not  understand  their 
office,  and  feel  their  obligations?  Can  it  be  that 
they  shall  not  be  faithful  ? 

Let  us  see.  In  human  affairs,  knowledge 
and  skill  are  considered  necessary  to  success. 
Preparation  and  qualification  are  requisites  well 
appreciated  all  the  world  over.  Who  thinks 
of  entering  on  the  chosen  avocation  for  a  live- 
lihood or  for  usefulness,  without  forethought 
and  preparation?  Let  us  glance  at  a  few  in- 
stances. Suppose  one  of  the  so-called  learned 
professions :  what  years  has  the  aspiring  youth 
been  qualifying  himself  for  this !  What  book 
after  book  has  he  plodded  through,  what 
expense  incurred,  and  possibly  what  severe 
privations  endured,  to  place  himself  at  the  com- 
mencement of  his  favorite,  life  -  long  career  ! 
Another  devotes  himself  to  some  department  of 
the  arts.  Whatever  his  genius,  he  most  pa- 
tiently persists  and  works  on  long,  before  he 
reaches  the  lofty  mark  of  his  burning  desire. 
Still  another  gives  himself  to  some  one  of  the 
material  interests.  He  spends  years  upon  the 
soil,  learning  how  crops  and  cattle  are  matured, 


10  PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY. 

and  turned  to  best  account;  or  in  a  shop  or 
manufactory,  to  obtain  the  craft  of  wielding 
tools  or  of  tending  machinery  whereby  inani- 
mate matter  is  moulded  into  forms  of  use ;  or  in 
some  mercantile  warehouse  or  common  store, 
acquiring  a  knowledge  of  such  productions,  and 
a  facility  in  selling  them.  Indeed,  from  the 
highest  profession  down  to  the  lowest  handicraft, 
there  is  preparation.  Custom  requires,  necessity 
commands  it.  Without  it,  unless  there  be  ex- 
traordinary talent,  there  must  be  failure  of  suc- 
cess. The  very  child  understands  this  fact,  and 
expects,  as  he  grows  up,  to  leave,  it  may  be, 
the  dear  home  of  his  birth,  to  learn  the  occupa- 
tion of  his  life. 

Again:  consider  a  young  woman.  She  is  a 
distinct  and  providential  part  in  the  great  order 
of  things.  She  is  to  take  a  commanding  posi- 
tion in  the  passing  but  momentous  procession  of 
human  lives.  She  also  has  been  spending  years 
in  preparation  for  the  future.  She  has  passed 
through  the  schools,  studying  at  least  the  com- 
mon branches,  and  perhaps  the  various  higher 
matters  in  literature  and  science, — Latin,  French, 
and  the  abstruser  mathematics.  She  must  be 
an  adept  at  pencil- drawing,  and  also  painting. 
Moreover,  for  months,  it  may  be  for  years,  she 


PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY.  11 

is  a  pupil  at  the  piano,  that  she  may  touch  the 
keys  with  even  respectable  skill.  Perchance, 
she  is  versed  in  household  affairs ;  at  least,  well 
understands  general  arrangements  and  the  more 
delicate  mysteries  of  the  culinary  art.  With  all 
these  acquirements,  if  there  be  judicious  regard 
to  time,  talent,  taste,  and  life's  important  duties, 
no  fault  can  be  found. 

At  length,  such  a  young  man  and  such  a 
young  woman  give  themselves  to  each  other  in 
sacred  marriage.  Here  is  a  new  home.  Home  ! 
it  is  earth's  most  precious  place.  It  is  that  one 
spot  which  heaven  most  nearly  touches,  and 
which  its  messengers  soonest  and  oftenest  visit. 
The  spirit  of  God  broods  over  the  home.  The 
Creative  Power  descends,  and  there  is  a  new 
human  being;  something  utterly  unknown  to 
time,  space,  or  finite  intelligence,  before  ;  some- 
thing distinct  from  all  other  existences  that 
ever  were,  or  will  be  ;  something  the  exact  like 
of  which  is  not,  and  never  will  be,  in  the  whole 
universe  of  God.  It  is  committed  to  the  charge 
of  this  twain.  From  a  thousand  millions  these 
two  are  separated  by  the  Creating  Hand,  and 
ordained  as  primary  and  especial  ministers,  to 
keep,  and  to  keep  most  safely;  to  educate,  and 
to  educate  most  wisely ;  to  bless,  and  to  bless 


12  PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY. 

more  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  particularly 
in  the  first  years,  —  this  creature  of  the  Most 
High. 

Well,  those  who  have  spent  so  long  a  period 
carefully  fitting  themselves  for  occupations  which 
have  to  do  with  chance-coming  strangers,  and 
which  operate  simply  on  the  more  general  needs 
of  family  and  social  life,  —  they,  surely,  cannot 
but  have  qualified  themselves  for  this  duty,  one 
nearest  to  the  hands,  most  solemn  to  the  con- 
science, and  closest,  dearest  to  the  heart.  What 
books  must  they  have  read,  what  treatises 
studied  !  How  have  they  consulted  the  experi- 
ence of  Jiving  persons  around  !  How  have  they 
humbly  sought  wisdom  from  above !  If  they  ever 
did  pray,  they  must  have  earnestly  supplicated 
now.  They  cannot  but  be  ready  to  do  time's 
noblest  work  on  earth's  loftiest,  lordliest  pro- 
duct. What !  are  they  not  Heaven's  own  angels 
embodied  in  the  flesh?  Alas,  alas  !  that  young 
father  and  that  young  mother  have  spent  not  a 
year,  not  a  month,  not  a  week,  not  a  day,  not  an 
hour,  —  they  have  not  read  a  book  nor  made 
an  inquiry,  —  in  preparation.  Some  foresight 
and  provision  for  the  merest  physical  necessities 
make  the  only  exception.  They  take  the  cen- 
tral instrument  of  the  grand  orchestra  of  crea- 


PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY.  13 

tion,  framed  and  toned  by  the  Infinite  Artist 
into  almost  utterly  unskilled  hands.  What  can 
ensue  but  that  it  should  be  loosened  or  strained 
into  discords,  or  even  shattered  to  ruin,  and 
scattered,  as  it  were  piecemeal,  to  the  world's 
tempests  ? 

This  may  be  looked  upon  with  some  degree 
of  indulgence,  considering  the  thoughtlessness 
and  rushing  impulses  of  youth.  But  these  pa- 
rents go  on  to  more  mature  and  sober  life,  and 
child  after  child  —  it  may  be,  numerously  —  is 
at  length  intrusted  to  their  care,  with  immea- 
surable destinies  rooted  in  the  earliest  and  most 
impressible  years  ;  and  yet  nothing  is  intention- 
ally and  specifically  done  to  repair  that  lack  of 
fitness  with  which  they  assumed  the  parental 
office  in  the  beginning.  Is  it  any  wonder  that 
families  are  what  we  so  often  see,  —  misrule  at 
the  head,  and  misdeeds  in  the  members  ?  How 
can  it  be  otherwise  than  that  boyhood  should  be 
ill-tempered  and  disobedient  at  home  ;  disorderly 
at  school ;  contentious,  unmannerly,  vulgar,  and 
profane  in  the  street ;  and  perhaps  take  early 
steps  toward  dissipation  and  ruin  ?  What  more 
likely  than  that  sister  girlhood  should  grow  up 
self-willed,  petulant,  vain,  frivolous,  and  self- 
idolizing?  Is  it  tiny  wonder  that  communities 


14  PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY. 

are  shattered  by  petty  self-interests,  and  imbit- 
tered  by  scandals ;  and  that  ordinary  business, 
in  which  Christian  justice  and  kindness  should 
prevail,  is  one  hot  war  of  struggling,  yea,  crush- 
ing antagonisms  ? 

There  are  supposed  to  be  thirty  thousand 
human  beings,  once  innocent  babes  at  the  ma- 
ternal bosom,  now  shut  up  within  the  granite 
walls  and  iron  doors  of  the  prisons  of  our  country. 
Is  this  any  wonder,  when  we  take  into  view  the 
homes  from  which  they  came,  and  the  pupils  of 
other  homes  among  whom  they  fell  ?  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  as  many  more,  quite  or  almost  as 
wicked,  are  yet  abroad,  desolating  society  ?  Is 
it  any  wonder  that  all  around,  and  in  every 
grade  of  life,  there  are  low  sensualities,  fiery 
passions,  destructive  collisions,  and  all  the  mul- 
tiform shapes  and  methods  and  innumerable 
complications  of  unheavenly  selfishness  ?  Yes, 
yes :  why  should  not  all  these  things  be  ?  for 
who  puts  the  rush  of  causes  back  from  their 
inevitable  effects?  Oh  !  when  I  perceive,  in  so 
many  directions,  intelligent,  reasoning,  interest- 
seeking  men  and  women,  inquiring  into  and 
clearly  understanding  and  surely  acting  on  the 
philosophy  of  cause  and  effect  in  all  the  concerns 
of  life  but  that  of  the  right  cure  and  culture  of 


PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY.  15 

those  nearest  and  dearest  to  them  in  their  homes, 
it  seems  a  strange,  unaccountable  fatuity,  a 
stupendous  insanity.  Behold,  notwithstanding 
countless  instances  in  the  past,  and  numerous 
cases  in  the  present  and  all  around,  admonish, 
and  that  even  terrific  gulfs  of  ruin  close  by 
send  up  the  wail  of  those  perishing  down  in 
them  ;  notwithstanding  God's  Holy  Word  majes- 
tically commands  and  tenderly  pleads,  and  his  re- 
tributive providences  awfully  warn, — how  many, 
by  their  own  direct  example,  incite  their  chil- 
dren, or  at  least,  by  their  neglect,  permit  them, 
to  approach,  step  by  step,  the  brink  of  the  deep, 
dark,  fatal  abysses ;  yea,  and  perhaps  they  stand 
by,  apathetically,  senselessly,  and  see  them  drop, 
one  by  one,  in  !  Ye  saints  and  angels,  who  gaze 
down  in  pity  or  amazement,  is  not  this  a  mad- 
ness ? 

Consider  the  other  various  interests  of  life : 
how  numerous  the  appliances  to  promote  their 
advancement  1  What  institutions,  books,  periodi- 
cals, meetings,  discussions  !  As  for  reading,  the 
publications  come,  the  whole  year  through,  al- 
most as  thickly  as  do  the  flowers  in  the  few 
vegetative  months ;  and  some  of  them  rival,  in 
richness  and  beauty,  the  very  flowers.  How 
bright  the  centre-table  with  its  gilded  volumes ! 


16  PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY. 

In  the  houses  of  the  wealthy  is  the  large  and 
various  library  ;  and,  in  the  hands  of  all,  the 
multifarious  newspaper.  From  the  unwholesome 
places  of  teeming  brains  creeps  that  vermin, 
that  reptile  literature,  which  steals  into  the 
hands  of  brothers,  thence  into  those  of  sisters, 
and  into  the  hearts  of  both,  leaving  vileness  — 
it  may  be,  poison  —  there.  But  in  how  few  of 
these  houses,  take  the  land  through,  from  the 
lowest  to  the  highest,  do  we  find  a  single  volume 
teaching  the  Heaven-commissioned  heads  of  the 
household  how  to  train  up  their  children  in 
the  way  they  should  go  !  There  are  such  books, 
there  are  periodicals,  for  this  purpose ;  but  the 
booksellers  affirm,  that  of  all  the  works  of  com- 
mon, practical  value,  they  have  the  least  call 
for  treatises  on  family  discipline. 

What  gatherings  all  over  the  land,  for  discus- 
sion, knowledge,  and  impulse  in  respect  to  the 
increase  and  management  of  property,  and  the 
multiplying  of  facilities  for  business  !  What  ex- 
hibitions, emulations,  successes,  and  applauses ! 
There  are  agricultural  fairs  and  cattle -shows  ; 
and  the  land  glows  with  culture,  and  gladdens 
in  the  beauty  of  flowers  and  the  ripeness  of 
fruits,  and  proudly  swells  with  the  largeness 
and  fatness  of  kine. 


PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY.  17 

Of  conventions,  there  are  other  than  those  of 
patriotism  and  partisanship  :  there  are  horse 
conventions,  and  even  poultry  conventions ;  and 
men  and  women,  and  beauty  and  fashion,  collect 
around  in  multitudes  to  behold  and  admire. 
Our  most  gifted  orators  are  invited  on  such 
occasions,  and  they  sound  their  most  silvery 
eloquence  in  the  cause  of  brutes  and  vegetables. 
But  who  ever  heard  of  a  similar  gathering  of 
fathers  and  mothers,  in  loving  ardor  and  con- 
scientious anxiety,  to  learn  from  each  other,  by 
interchange  of  ideas,  by  the  discussion  of  ques- 
tions, and  by  the  hearing  of  committee-reports, 
how  to  rear  and  educate  noble  sons  and  daugh- 
ters ;  how  to  prevent  sons  from  descending,  as 
so  many  have  done,  beneath  the  brute ;  how  to 
prevent  daughters  from  coming  to  be  not  much 
better  than  inactive  vegetables,  —  yea,  than  very 
weeds  ;  how  to  make  the  infant  a  fully  developed 
man,  worthy  to  be  earth's  powerful  lord,  and 
heaven's  blessed  heir?* 

*  The  maternal  associations  which  have  been  instituted  in  many 
churches  are  no  exceptions  to  what  is  intimated  above.  These  are 
confined  to  one  sex,  are  of  limited  numbers  generally,  and  of  vacil- 
lating and  feeble  operation.  So  I  have  been  informed  by  many 
pastors.  The  meetings  for  educational  discussion,  mentioned  toward 
the  close  of  this  volume,  had  not  been  started  when  this  lecture  was 
first  written  ;  and  they  are  now  but  an  experiment  and  a  begin- 
ning. 

2 


18  PARENTAL    RESPONSIBILITY. 

In  case  of  physical  defect,  how  anxious  are 
parents  for  a  remedy  !  Let  there  be  only  a  stain 
marring  personal  beauty,  and  they  Would  apply 
steel  or  fire,  with  all  the  pain,  if  thus  the  blemish 
could  be  taken  out,  and  no  scar  left.  How 
little  is  thought  of  the  stain  made  by  bad  com- 
panionship and  example  on  the  soul !  I  knew  a 
mother  who  travelled  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
in  the  cold,  cheerless  winter,  carrying  her  infant 
for  a  distinguished  surgeon  to  set  aright  its  dis- 
torted foot ;  and  who  then  journeyed  back  again, 
all  unaccompanied,  except  by  strangers,  to  an 
impoverished  home.  Is  there  any  mother  who 
would  not  do  the  same,  or  a  father  who  would 
not  give  his  last  dollar,  to  save  a  child  from  life- 
long lameness?  But  with  what  moral  distor- 
tions do  children  come  into  the  world,  and  these 
inherited  from  parents  themselves,  or  more  re- 
mote progenitors  !  yet  how  few  parents  are 
anxious  about,  or  even  at  all  notice,  such  obli- 
quities !  Take  these  obliquities  in  the  begin- 
ning, how  soft  and  pliable  to  heaven -directed 
management !  Let  them  alone,  they  become 
crookednesses,  gnarled,  knotted,  enduring,  per- 
haps hideous  to  the  sight,  and  an  anguish  to 
the  bosom,  of  that  community  which  is  obliged 
to  hold  them  in  its  midst. 


PARENTAL    RESPONSIBILITY.  19 

But  some  reply,  "We  have  been  faithful  to 
our  children :  we  have  diligently  sought  and 
practised  the  best  methods  of  culture."  But 
have  you  done  all  your  duty?  Your  children 
are  still  insecure,  unless  your  neighbors  are  as 
faithful  as  yourselves.  You  must  not  rest  till 
all  around  partake  of  your  spirit,  and  co-operate 
in  your  action.  Society  is  like  one  great  jellied 
mass :  touch  but  a  single  spot,  and  it  trembles 
throughout.  Is  your  son  a  pupil  at  the  public 
school?  Is  he  a  member  of  the  street-commu- 
nity of  boys  ?  If  so,  he  is  every  day  exposed  to 
the  contagion  of  vice.  Unless  his  ears  shall  be 
stopped  like  the  deaf,  he  cannot  but  hear  vul- 
garity and  profanity  ;  catch  words  and  ideas,  too, 
which  shall  sink  into  his  memory,  and  infuse  a 
stain  into  his  soul,  which  perhaps,  through  the 
eternal  ages,  may  not  be  cleansed  out.  Your 
daughter  may  be  as  pure  as  a  snow-flake  just 
from  the  airy  cloud,  or  as  the  sweetest  blossom 
of  the  spring ;  yet  she  is  surrounded  and  endan- 
gered by  influences  that  may  defile  and  deform 
the  crystalline  threads,  and  the  fresh,  delicate 
bloom,  of  her  soul.  There  are  those  in  polished 
society,  and  perhaps  altogether  unsuspected, 
whose  very  presence  is  almost  a  poison.  Ah  ! 
whose  son  or  daughter  is  safe  with  the  present 


20  PARENTAL   RESPONSIBILITY. 

morals  of  cities,  towns,  and  villages?  Yet  who 
is  alarmed  at  this  condition  of  things,  or  seeks 
to  alarm  others  ?  Let  a  pestilence,  let  the  cho- 
lera, sweep  along  the  land,  and  approach,  day 
by  day,  nearer  and  nearer,  and  what  consterna- 
tion !  How  the  authorities  bestir  themselves ! 
How  cellars  and  drains  are  looked  into,  searched 
closely,  and  cleansed !  Not  the  speck  of  a  de- 
caying vegetable  must  remain.  Indeed,  were 
some  offensive  matter  unexpectedly  discovered 
in  a  neighbor's  yard  or  in  the  contiguous  street, 
sending  its  effluvia  into  the  premises  of  the  most 
aristocratic  gentleman,  and,  if  the  laborer  could 
not  be  hurried  to  its  removal,  he  would  himself 
seize  the  spade  with  his  own  soft,  white  hands, 
—  yes,  so  would  the  mother  of  his  children, 
however  delicate  and  high-bred,  —  and  dig  a 
pit,  and  thrust  the  nuisance  in,  and  bury  it  up, 
to  save  the  dear  ones  from  the  pest-inviting  at- 
mosphere. But  the  elements  of  a  moral  cholera 
are  as  thick  in  the  great  cities  as  the  smoke  and 
soot  that  lower  over  their  roofs  :  indeed,  they 
pervade  every  town  and  village  of  our  land. 
But  who  stirs  a  limb  or  utters  a  word  toward 
an  active  and  determined  purification  ? 

The  angel  of  death  often  snatches  little  chil- 
dren away  to  the  care  and  training  of  heavenly 


PARENTAL    RESPONSIBILITY.  21 

teachers ;  while  infatuated  parents  put  forth  all 
their  puny  strength,  and  shriek  out  supplica- 
tions, to  prevent  this  most  blessed  rescue  from 
their  own  destroying  hands :  but  let  the  demons 
from  the  bottomless  pit  come  stealing  up,  come 
rushing  up,  and  there  is  no  alarm,  and  they 
seduce  and  destroy  at  their  pleasure. 

How  long  shall  the  proper  care  of  infancy, 
the  nurture  of  childho'od,  and  the  guidance  of 
youth,  be  deemed  a  small,  petty  business,  and 
utterly  unworthy  special  consideration,  amid 
what  are  called,  or  what  are  fancied  to  be,  the 
great  affairs  of  life,  —  money -making,  dress, 
dress-displaying,  and  pleasure-seeking?  A  small 
matter,  a  petty  matter,  is  it,  —  the  early  disposi- 
tions, tendencies,  and  habits  of  the  human  being, 
which  unfold  into  angelic  beauty,  or  burst  out 
into  horrible  deformity  !  Yet  the  parents  who 
thus  feel  and  believe,  or  at  any  rate  who  neglect 
the  higher  nature,  call  in,  when  a  child  is  seized 
with  sickness,  the  most  reliable  physician  within 
their  means ;  and,  learned  and  eminent  as  he 
may  be,  he  stoops  to  the  small  business  of  feel- 
ing the  infantile  pulse,  of  counting  throb  by 
throb,  and  of  keenly  inspecting  the  color  of  the 
tongue.  An  unusual  tinge  upon  the  skin  is  then 
of  consequence  :  it  is  a  symptom.  But  be  as- 


22  PARENTAL    RESPONSIBILITY. 

sured,  that  there  are  little  things,  yea,  least 
things,  in  the  earliest  character,  too  generally 
unheeded,  which  are  also  symptoms,  —  spiritual 
symptoms ;  and,  to  the  wise  and  watchful  edu- 
cator, they  are  most  fearfully  premonitory. 
Little  and  belittling  is  it,  —  the  charge  of  the 
chief  and  central  organism  of  this  lower  creation, 
around  and  for  which  the  wheels  of  nature  turn 
and  its  springs  play  in  all  their  mightiness  and 
minuteness,  and  for  which  wondrous  providences 
have  been  displayed,  and  even  nature-rending 
miracles  wrought !  —  the  charge  of  it,  that  it 
may  be  unfolded  into  beautiful  order,  and  grand 
and  joyous  activities,  and  be  made  to  sing  for 
ever  in  unison  with  heavenly  spheres  ! 

For  this  immortal  one,  the  spiritual  mansions 
were  builded,  glorious,  boundless,  eternal ;  yea, 
for  him  the  third  heavens  may  have  been  lifted 
up,  nearest  to  the  light  inaccessible.  But,  alas  ! 
through  causes,  commencing  with  the  earliest 
life;  yea,  by  the  sharp-cutting  consequence  of 
undirected  thought,  ungoverned  appetites,  burn- 
ing passions,  and  motives  yet  closer  within  the 
will  and  the  self-hood,  and  still  more  intensely 
ungodly,  —  he  may  prepare,  year  by  year,  in  his 
own  mysterious,  unfathomable  nature,  an  ever- 
deepening,  terrific  hell ;  and  none  but  the  Om- 


PARENTAL    RESPONSIBILITY.  23 

niscient  can  know  when  or  whether  such  awful 
industry  shall  ever  stop  or  pause.  To  save  such 
a  being  from  himself,  the  Ancient  of  days,  the 
"  I  am  that  I  am,"  descended  into  Immanuel,  — 
Jehovah  into  Jesus.  Yea,  the  most  merciful 
Father  continues  long-suffering  and  ever-provid- 
ing. Nevertheless,  how  utterly  without  avail 
may  it  be,  unless  those  who  receive  body  and 
soul  from  his  immediate  hand  and  spirit,  and  are 
left  in  living  freedom,  shall  fulfil  their  initiatory, 
far-reaching,  superlative  part  I 


LECTURE 


GOVERNMENT,    MISGOVERNMENT,   AND    NO- 
GOVERNMENT   IN   THE   FAMILY. 


NOTE. 


THIS  and  the  following  Lecture  were  given  at  first  extempo- 
raneously. It  was  of  great  importance  to  make  the  subject  interest- 
ing; for,  of  all  topics  presented  to  the  public  ear,  that  of  family 
education  seemed  to  be  the  most  dull  and  uninviting.  It  was  desi- 
rable to  show  that  there  was  no  lack  of  life  and  spirit  in  it;  that, 
while  it  was  of  the  first  moment,  it  could  also  be  made  somewhat 
attractive.  Illustrative  incidents  were,  therefore,  quite  numerously 
introduced.  It  was  found  that  those  which  had  been  witnessed  by 
the  lecturer,  and  especially  those  in  which  he  himself  had  borne  a 
part,  were  the  most  effective  on  the  audience.  These  Lectures,  when 
put  on  paper  for  delivery,  retained  the  same  characteristics.  They 
are  now  presented  in  print,  much  in  the  same  style.  The  first  per- 
sonal pronoun  continues  to  be  used  where  the  incidents  were  really 
of  a  personal  character.  This  circumstance,  it  is  believed,  cannot 
but  impart  to  them  a  reality  and  an  impressiveness  which  a  more 
abstract,  and  apparently  more  modest,  method  would  not  have 
afforded.  It  is  therefore  hoped  that  this  individual  prominence  of 
the  writer  will  not  be  set  down  to  the  account  of  any  thing  like 
egotism;  for  nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth.  The  object 
has  simply  been  to  come  as  close  to  minds  and  hearts  as  possible,  for 
the  sake  of  doing  them  good.  It  may  be  said  here,  moreover,  once 
for  all,  that  if,  anywhere  in  these  productions,  the  author  makes  him- 
self personally  conspicuous,  this  is  done  for  the  sake  of  greater 
use  or  convenience,  and  not  at  all  for  self-exhibition. 


LECTURE 


GOVERNMENT,    MISGOVERNMENTT  AND    NO- 
GOVERNMEXT    IN    THE   FAMILY. 


TN  the  first  place,  let  us  understand  the  grounds 
of  parental  power  and  filial  submission.  It 
is  only  according  to  certain  laws,  certain  fixed 
methods  of  matter  and  spirit,  that  the  plans  of 
the  Divine  Father  can  be  fulfilled.  The  human 
being  comes  into  the  world  in  utter  ignorance 
of  these  conditions  of  welfare.  Hence,  from 
very  birth,  he  is  liable  to  infringe  them  and  to 
suffer.  First,  he  knows  not  what  will  do  him 
bodily  injury;  so  he  must  be  forcibly  restrained. 
In  this  simple  circumstance  of  safety  begins  the 
trial  of  what  is  called  "  government."  A  child's 
hand  is  withheld  from  a  sharp  knife,  or  burning 
lamp,  or  some  other  destructive  agent ;  and  he  is 
thus  initiated  into  submission  to  a  power  above 
himself.  No  one,  having  the  care,  would  fail  to 


28  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

exercise  the  due  control,  in  case  of  positive  and 
immediate  danger.  At  this  point,  however,  de- 
termined, inevitable  government  often  ceases. 
From  this  point  there  may  be  continued  a  course 
of  obedience,  order,  quietness,  comfort,  peace, 
in  the  parental  and  filial  relations ;  or,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  may  commence  long-protracted 
disobedience,  disorder,  distraction,  and  any  thing 
but  peace.  The  child  was  made  for  activity : 
it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  his  growth  and 
health  ;  also  for  his  mental  as  well  as  his  physi- 
cal development.  So,  in  his  instinctive  impulses, 
he  betakes  himself  this  way  or  that,  and  gets 
hold  of  one  thing  or  another.  He  knows  not 
the  tendencies  of  his  conduct  in  respect  to  a 
hundred  things  and  movements.  The  work-bas- 
ket which  he  might  pull  from  the  stand,  or  the 
plate  he  might  draw  from  the  table,  are  not 
valuables  to  him.  He  knows  not  why  he  may 
not  touch  them,  as  well  as  try  his  strength  or 
perceptions  on  any  thing  else.  He  has  no  idea, 
moreover,  of  property  as  belonging  to  others. 
Why  should  not  he  appropriate  scissors  or  mus- 
lin just  as  others  do  who  have  eyes  and  hands  ? 
He  is  a  little,  crawling,  creeping,  picking,  pull- 
ing, pushing,  climbing,  tottling,  and  tumbling- 
down  piece  of  activity. 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN   THE    FAMILY.  29 

What  is  denominated  "  mischief"  in  the  house- 
hold vocabulary  is  his  work;  and  this  sort  of 
industry  is  really  of  incalculable  profit  in  his 
education.  Nevertheless,  he  must  be  permitted 
to  go  exactly  so  far,  and  no  farther ;  to  do 
exactly  so  much,  and  no  more.  He  must  be 
governed.  Authority  must  be  made  absolute. 
It  must  exercise  compulsion  in  all  these  in- 
stances, just  as  much  as  in  the  case  of  closely 
threatening  physical  danger.  Then  there  was 
no  hesitation,  whatever  might  be  the  resistance, 
the  angry  wilfulness,  and  even  spasmodic  con- 
tortions, of  the  little  operator.  Begin  at  the 
earliest,  and  keep  straight  on,  and  it  will  not 
be  difficult,  generally,  to  establish  certain  rules 
of  action  with  a  child,  and  to  make  him  under- 
stand that  these  rules  must  be  obeyed  the  same 
as  he  obeys  the  necessity  of  not  touching  fire. 
It  simply  requires  watchfulness  and  firmness. 
Plere  is  a  practical  illustration  which  fell  under 
my  own  eye  many  years  ago.  A  little  boy  of 
nine  months  old  is  making  the  tour  of  the  room 
on  all  fours ;  stopping  at  this  thing,  then  at 
that ;  tugging  at  a  chair,  pushing  a  cricket,  and 
poking  along  something  else;  but,  coming  within 
reach  of  the  bright-headed  but  black-footed  im- 
plements of  the  fireplace,  he  stops,  and  turning 


30  GOVERNMENT,   M1SGOVERNMENT,   AND 

his  little  face  over  his  left  shoulder,  and  his 
bright  eye  up  to  his  mother,  who  happens  to  be 
behind  at  the  opposite  side  of  the  room,  he 
gives  her  a  significant  look,  as  much  as  to  say, 
"  I  should  like  to  know  how  those  things  feel, 
and  to  use  them  as  you  do,  mother.  But  you 
needn't  worry  :  I  shall  mind  you,  and  not  touch 
them."  Then,  turning  back,  he  pushes  his  tra- 
vels among  unforbidden  curiosities.  There  was 
the  same  habit  of  contented  obedience  to  other 
necessary  restrictions.  Yet  this  was  an  uncom- 
monly sickly  and  nervous  child  by  constitution ; 
one  who,  by  indulgence,  would  have  been  a 
screeching,  scratching  little  rebel,  driving  at 
every  thing  that  was  accessible,  like  thousands 
of  others,  in  spite  of  anybody  or  any  thing  but 
irresistible  strength  or  impenetrable  matter. 

In  many  families,  however,  rules  are  made 
only  to  be  overruled  or  to  be  unmade.  In  fact, 
the  household  sovereign,  who  does  not  insist  on 
immediate  submission  to  separate  and  incidental 
commands,  is  likely  at  length  to  fall  into  a  weak- 
ness of  character,  which  will  not  insist  on  a 
uniform  compliance  with  what  are  intended  to 
be  the  fixed  statutes  of  the  domestic  realm. 
Places  for  certain  things,  and  times  for  certain 
doings,  which  should  be  regular,  —  the  proper 


NO-GOVERNMENT  IN  THE  FAMILY.      31 

where  and  when,  —  get  all  askew,  and  are  some- 
times lost  beyond  recovery.  Yes,  laws,  which 
are  important  to  the  safety  and  the  life  of  the 
heedless  little  ones,  will  be  broken  over  and 
broken  over,  until,  in  consequence,  some  terrible 
calamity  shall  smite  that  home  with  sadness,  or 
even  with  agonizing  bereavement.  Such  has 
been  the  occasion  of  many  a  fall,  breaking  the 
limbs ;  and  many  a  drowning  in  the  forbidden 
water. 

Sometimes  such  parents  are  conscious  of 
their  error,  and,  indeed,  are  even  intending  re- 
form ;  but  they  get  no  further  toward  it  than 
intention.  Said  a  mother  of -this  character  to 
her  pert  little  boy,  "  George,  I  tell  you  what 
it  is:  I'm  going  to  turn  over  a  new  leaf  with 
you."  — "  Mother,"  was  the  reply,  "I  tell  you 
what  it  is :  you  have  been  a  great  while  turn- 
ing over  that  new  leaf,  but  haven't  got  it  over 
yet."  Alas  !  how  many  there  are,  who,  like  this 
impotent  one,  are  always  intending  to  turn  over 
the  new  leaf,  but  never  get  it  over ;  or,  if  they 
do,  the  leaf  will  not  stay^tf,  but  flits  back,  and 
exhibits  the  same  continually  repeated  tale  of 
weakness,  misrule,  and  discomfort ! 

Here  the  remark  is  well  in  place,  that  it  is 
those  children  who  are  ever  breaking  the  laws 


32  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,  AND 

of  home,  or  in  whose  homes  there  are  no  laws  to 
be  broken,  who  come  to  be  the  offensively  vi- 
cious and  the  destructively  criminal.  Such,  of 
a  certain  class,  are  often  sent  on  long  voyages, 
under  strict  sea-captainship,  to  Calcutta  or  Can- 
ton ;  or  on  a  three-years'  cruise  to  look  on  and 
see  how  monstrous  whales  are  taken  in  the 
South  seas  or  on  the  North-west  coast.  But,  if 
the  unmanageable  fellows  belong  to  a  certain 
other  class,  their  voyage  is  a  short  one,  and  hard 
enough  to  bear :  it  is  from  the  court-room  to  the 
House  of  Correction  or  the  State  Prison. 

If  the  child  shall  be  trained  to  conform  to 
established  rules,  then  he  will  be  much  more 
ready  to  obey  those  commands  and  injunctions 
arising  from  exigencies  which  are  ever  new.  In 
the  first  place,  in  a  little  child's  impulses  and  ac- 
tivities, he  is  liable  to  take  directions  in  which 
no  established  rule  of  prohibition  will  come  in 
his  way.  Household  affairs  are  various  and 
changing ;  and  the  child  must  be  in  the  midst, 
with  his  little  eyes  to  look,  his  little  hands  to 
take  hold  of,  and  his  curiosity  to  be  gratified. 
Well,  the  prohibition  to  be  given  is  the  first  one 
of  the  kind,  and  may  never  occur  again.  But  if 
it  is  not  made,  if  his  hands  are  not  held  back,  he 
does  harm  to  himself  or  to  something  else.  If 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN   THE   FAMILY.  33 

he  is  not  restrained  in  this  particular  instance, 
much  less  can  he  be  restrained  in  the  next  ne- 
cessity of  the  sort :  so  there  will  be  incalculable 
disorder.  Indeed,  where  a  child  shall  not  be 
made  implicitly  to  obey  particular  commands,  it 
will  be  hard  to  make  him  conform  to  general 
rules.  It  will  be  difficult  to  establish  any  gene- 
ral law  for  him.  He  has  his  own  will  in  these 
individual  instances,  in  spite  of  the  authorita- 
tive injunction :  what  will  he  care,  then,  for  the 
wish,  the  word,  the  command,  that  he  shall  not 
go  anywhere  and  do  any  tiling  that  he  chooses  ? 
Let  it  be  understood,  then,  that  general  rules  of 
government  begin  in  special  directions  which 
are  continually  made  necessary  in  family  life. 
These  are  as  rivets,  ever  thickening,  which  keep 
up  the  bars  and  barricades  of  physical  and  moral 
safety  about  the  home. 

A  most  successful  parental  educator,  whose 
large  family  of  children  did  him  distinguished 
honor,  was  once  asked  the  secret  of  his  success. 
The  patriarch  replied,  that  he  had  no  great  wis- 
dom to  boast  of,  but  that  he  would  simply  state 
one  circumstance  which  might  have  had  an  im- 
portant bearing  on  the  matter.  His  children 
could  never  remember  the  time  when  they  did 
not  obey  their  father  and  mother.  The  princi- 

3 


34  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

pie  thus  illustrated  has  been  intimated  before, 
and  is  of  infinite  importance :  it  is  to  begin  to 
establish  authority  over  the  child  as  soon  as  any 
restraint  is  needed,  and  to  keep  this  authority 
unbroken.  Of  course,  the  occasions  must  occur 
so  early,  that  no  human  remembrance  could  go 
so  far  back  as  to  reach  them.  Recollection,  as 
it  runs  along  back  to  the  earliest,  to  the  faintest 
thought,  finds  a  father  and  a  mother  who  were 
never  disobeyed.  With  such  training,  and  such 
habits  thus  early  formed,  there  cannot  ordina- 
rily come  the  struggle  of  the  great  will  with 
the  little  will,  and  —  what  we  sometimes  hear 
about  —  the  absolute  necessity  of  breaking  the 
will.  For  the  will  has  always  been  submissive 
and  pliant.  It  has  been  thoroughly  habituated 
to  yield  to  the  strong,  the  knowing,  the  careful, 
the  tender,  yet  the  firm  and  majestic  authority 
which  has,  from  the  first,  bent  above  it.  How, 
with  such  wise  management,  would  the  child  be 
saved  from  disagreeable  memories  of  the  up- 
risings of  its  own  will,  and  the  down-pressings, 
yet  unsteady  pressures,  of  the  superior  will  ! 
If  the  parent  only  knew  it,  it  is  absolute  cruelty 
to  a  child  to  bring  on  such  conflicts  by  the  let- 
alone  policy,  and  thence  to  fill  the  mind  with 
ever-living  prickles  from  the  keenly  vivid  re- 
membrance of  such  passages  in  child-life. 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN   THE   FAMILY.  35 

What  folly,  then,  is  there  in  the  notion,  often 
expressed,  that  children  should  never  be  made 
to  obey  until  they  understand  the  reason  why  ! 
When,  according  to  this  theory,  they  are  old 
enough  to  obey,  they  are,  for  the  most  part,  quite 
too  old  to  do  it  according  to  their  own  ideas. 
Children  draw  inferences  much  earlier  than  is 
commonly  supposed.  Appertaining  to  this  very 
point,  here  is  an  illustration  which  I  myself  re- 
ceived from  a  father's  own  lips.  A  lady,  con- 
versing on  the  methods  of  education  and  the 
proper  time  of  beginning  discipline,  pointed  to 
his  own  little  boy,  with  the  remark,  "  Such 
children  are  not  old  enough  to  mind."  After 
she  had  gone,  the  father  gave  the  child  some 
trivial  direction  ;  and  he  straightened  up  his  bit 
of  a  body,  and  turned  up  his  tiny  face,  with  a 
sort  of  newly-felt  consequence,  and  exclaimed, 
"  Father,  I'm  not  old  enough  to  mind ! " 

By  a  glance  at  the  methods  of  God  in  intro- 
ducing his  children  into  the  world ;  at  his  wise 
and  beautiful  laws  appertaining  to  the  com- 
mencement and  the  progress  of  the  human  facul- 
ties, —  the  weakest  reason,  one  might  think, 
would  perceive  the  course  of  duty.  See  how 
things  have  been  pre-arranged  !  A  child  is  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  parent  in  baby  and  total 


36  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

weakness  both  of  body  and  mind ;  and  this,  that 
authority  may  not  be  deferred,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, be  most  firmly  established,  at  the  earliest 
activities  of  life.  How  beautifully  adapted  is 
one  thing  to  the  other !  An  infantile  lack  of 
animal  strength  is  set  over  against  an  infantile 
ignorance  of  mind  and  a  blind  impulsiveness  of 
will.  The  feeble  creature  is  not  only  entirely 
in  the  keeping,  but  under  the  absolute  control, 
of  his  authoritative  friends.  At  first,  they  can 
hold  him  as  with  the  strength  of  a  single  nerve. 
Being  present  and  observing,  they  can  restrain 
him  from  any  ordinary  danger.  But  they  ac- 
quire a  power  over  him  beyond  that  of  muscular 
strength :  deeper  and  more  subtle  causes  affect 
his  will,  and  lead  him  to  submit.  There  is  a 
reverence,  a  commingling  of  fear  and  love.  Be- 
sides this,  there  is  a  sort  of  sentiment  of  duty. 
He  soon  begins  to  feel  that  he  should,  as  well  as 
that  he  must,  yield  obedience.  Here,  indeed,  is 
the  first  dawning  of  conscience.  Then  comes 
in  habit.  From  his  earliest  recollection,  he  has 
been  accustomed  to  yield  to  this  authority ;  and, 
if  his  governors  and  guardians  have  been  faith- 
ful, it  is,  at  length,  with  him  as  it  is  with  most 
good  citizens  in  regard  to  the  laws  of  the  State : 
there  is  no  thought  or  wish  to  violate  them. 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN   THE   FAMILY.  37 

Let  the  habit  of  obedience  be  thoroughly  con- 
firmed, and  the  child,  who  at  first  needed  painful 
compulsion,  will  afterwards  want  only  rational, 
tender,  but  unwavering  guidance.  The  power 
of  parents,  and  of  their  coadjutors  around,  to- 
gether with  reverence  and  an  unfolding  con- 
science within  his  soul,  all  conspire  to  make 
him  a  peaceful  subject  of  the  first  and  most 
sacred  empire  on  earth,  —  that  of  the  home. 
Now,  could  such  a  state  of  things  be  brought 
about  there,  how  obedient,  respectful,  and  order- 
ly would  grow  up  the  communities  of  youth  in 
the  school,  of  manhood  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
of  citizenship  in  the  town  and  the  state  !  But 
it  is  not  always  so  ;  and  why  ?  Because  these 
first  rulers,  these  most  responsible  of  all  mon- 
archs,  do  not  faithfully  perform  their  duty. 
They  do  not  designedly  neglect;  but  they  are 
inadvertently  delinquent.  Indeed,  many,  who 
well  understand  the  nature  of  their  responsibili- 
ties, are  ignorant  of  the  true  methods  of  meet- 
ing them.  Instinct  may  impel,  tender  parental 
affection  may  prompt,  them  to  be  faithful ;  but, 
after  all,  family  government  is  a  science  and  an 
art,  and  they  have  not  the  endowment.  There 
are  natural  gifts  about  it,  as  there  are  in  the 
government  of  a  school  or  of  a  country.  Some 


38  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

have  them,  and  they  can  hardly  help  governing. 
Others  (and  they  seem  to  be  a  numerous  class) 
are  not  so  favored :  they  need  instruction  and 
a  sort  of  training  for  their  office.  Indeed,  those 
who  in  their  very  nature  can  govern,  as  it  is 
called,  may  be  much  assisted  by  hints  drawn 
from  the  experience  and  observation  of  others. 

It  must  be  confessed,  that  an  irreverent,  un- 
ruly spirit  has  come  to  be  a  prevalent,  an  out- 
rageous evil  among  the  young  people  of  our 
land.  Foreigners  observe  the  fact,  and  are 
very  much  struck  —  are  indeed  shocked  —  by 
it.  An  elderly  clergyman  related  to  me  this 
incident :  "  The  Persian  bishop,  who  visited 
this  country  several  years  ago,  called  on  me ; 
and  I  introduced  my  daughter.  His  very  first 
words,  accompanied  by  a  kindly  look,  were 
these:  'Do  you  obey  your  parents?'  —  as  much 
as  to  say, '  Can  it  be,  that  a  young  lady,  so  intel- 
ligent and  well-mannered  as  you  appear  to  be, 
is,  like  American  children  and  youth  in  gene- 
ral, disobedient  and  disrespectful  to  parents  ? ' : 
The  clergyman  asked  the  bishop  if  he  intended 
to  visit  England  on  his  return  home.  He  re- 
plied, that  he  could  not  then  tell :  he  must,  in 
the  first  place,  write  home,  and  obtain  his 
father's  consent.  The  bishop's  father  was  au 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN   THE    FAMILY.  39 

ecclesiastic  of  an  inferior  grade,  and  actually 
subordinate  to  the  son.  But,  as  a  parent,  he 
was  considered  far  superior  in  position  and 
office.  Thus  he  must  send  across  two  oceans 
to  obtain  that  parent's  consent  before  he  could 
make  a  passing  call  on  gloriously  renowned  Eng- 
land. The  incident  shows  a  world-wide  distance 
between  the  East  and  the  West  in  other  things 
than  longitude. 

Some  of  the  good  old  people  make  facetious 
complaint  on  this  deterioration  of  youthful  cha- 
racter and  manners.  "  There  is  as  much  govern- 
ment now  as  there  used  to  be  in  our  young 
days,"  say  they;  "only  it  has  changed  hands." 
There  are  certain  professional  men,  who  have 
occasion  to  know,  above  most  others,  into  whose 
hands  it  has  been  transferred :  for  instance,  phy- 
sicians, ministers,  and  school-teachers. 

Many  other  people,  of  less  extensive  acquaint- 
ance, have  been  convinced  of  the  fact. 

"  This  is  a  democratic  country,  there  is  not 
the  least  doubt,"  remarked  a  jocose  friend ;  "  for 
the  majority  —  that  is,  the  children  —  do  go- 
vern." Surely  they  have  it  mostly  all  their 
own  way.  Yes,  the  democratic  spirit  has  crept 
into  the  home,  where  it  was  never  intended  to 
be.  Father  and  mother — those  sovereigns  by 


40  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

divine  right  —  have  been  deposed.  Alas  for 
morals  and  order  until  there  shall  be  a  restora- 
tion !  It  should  be  laid  down  and  inculcated 
through  the  nation  as  a  great  maxim  of  civil 
and  political  wisdom,  that  sound  family  mon- 
archies are  the  surest  foundation  of  a  steadfast 
and  a  happy  republic. 

Instinctive  parental  love  —  that  special  en- 
dowment from  the  Divine  Parent  —  is  the  first 
preparatory  qualification  for  the  holy  office ;  but 
it  is  quite  often  perverted  into  a  disqualification. 
This  was  intended  to  insure  fidelity  to  the  child's 
best  good ;  but  how  frequently  does  it  lead  to 
blind,  destructive  indulgence  !  The  loving  in- 
stinct of  the  brute  makes  it  faithful,  but  never 
spoils  the  offspring.  "Would  that  the  same  could 
be  said  of  the  human  sovereign  of  the  brute  ! 

This  abuse  of  instinctive  tenderness  is  parti- 
cularly shown  in  a  lack  of  firmness  to  resist  a 
child's  importunities.  The  darling  craves  some 
improper  gratification.  His  parent,  true  for 
the  moment  to  conscience,  says,  "  No  ;  "  but  the 
child's  experience  is,  that  no  is  turned  to  yes 
by  half  an  hour's  teasing.  So  he  takes  to  this 
peculiarly  melodious  sort  of  eloquence  :  "  Now, 
do,  mamma  :  I  say,  won't  you  ?  Do  let  me  have 
it !  "  till  the  conscientious,  the  womanly,  yea,  the 


NO-GOVEUXMEXT   IN   THE   FAMILY.  41 

faithful  motherly  "  No  "  is  whined  clear  out  of 
his  way ;  and  the  mamma  often  comes  very  near 
to  something  much  like  whining  too :  "  Yes, 
you  may  have  it :  but,  my  child,  how  you  do 
trouble  me  !  it  seems  as  if  you  would  wear  my 
very  life  away."  But,  from  a  different  disposi- 
tion, the  reply  is,  perhaps,  "  Yes  :  take  it,  and  be 
off!  "  If  such  a  mother  desires  her  child's  love, 
let  her  understand  that  he  is  certainly  not  grow- 
ing in  affection  during  this  uncomfortable  space 
between  refusal  and  compliance.  He  is  irritated 
by  the  delay.  His  thought  and  feeling  are, 
"  Why  do  you  keep  me.  waiting?  Let  me  have 
it  now.  You  know  you'll  let  me  have  it  by  and 
by,  after  I  have  teased  long  enough  ;  as  you 
always  do.  I  don't  like  you,  mother ;  I  don't 
like  you,  old  mother !  Let  me  have  it  now." 
Such  is  the  secret  language  of  his  soul.  Well, 
does  he  like  her  any  better  after  she  has  come 
round,  or  rather  down,  to  his  little  mightiness? 
Not  at  all.  He  thinks  of  her,  cares  for  her,  no 
more,  till  he  comes  back  for  some  new  indul- 
gence ;  sure,  moreover,  that  he  shall  get  it. 
The  child,  whose  appetites  and  passions  are 
thus  developed,  really  loves  less  than  any  other 
one.  His  lower  nature  is  made  to  overgrow 
and  cover  up  and  crush  down  his  higher;  until, 


42  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,    AND 

at  length,  it  takes  a  good  deal  of  perforation  and 
probing  about  to  get  at  what  little  heart  he  has 
left. 

Again :  the  parent  wishes  her  child  to  enjoy 
life ;  to  be  a  happy  child.  How  often  she  bends 
her  back,  hardens  her  hands,  and  scorches  and 
withers  her  face,  to  furnish  luxuries  for  his  plea- 
sure !  Yet  she  is  taking  the  most  direct  and 
certain  means  to  counteract  her  heart's  earnest 
desire  ;  namely,  that  he  should  enjoy  life.  He 
is  a  spoiled  child  ;  and  the  spoiled  child  is  one  of 
the  most  wretched  beings  that  ever  disappointed 
the  purpose  of  creation.  The  least  opposition 
stirs  up  his  irascible  temper ;  and  is  such  a  dis- 
position a  blessing?  Brothers  and  sisters  and 
men-servants  and  maid-servants,  if  there  be  such 
unfortunates  about  him,  must  go  quick  at  his 
bidding,  or  spring  and  get  something  at  his  yell. 
How  he  will  hop  and  stamp  and  flutter,  and  shake 
himself  about,  if  he  cries  "  Go  !  "  or  "  Come  !  " 
and  nobody  starts  !  He  gets  provoked  at  things 
inanimate  just  because  they  retain  their  natural 
qualities :  the  nail  his  cap  clings  to,  or  the  door 
which  sticks  a  little  in  the  opening,  have  to  take 
instant  punishment ;  or,  rather,  the  little  fist  that 
hits  them  a  blow  has  to  take  it.  But  alas  for 
those  that  are  not  inanimate,  and  who  can  feel ! 


NO-GOVERNMENT  IN   THE   FAMILY.  43 

The  school-mate  who  will  not  turn  down  the  way 
that  suits  him,  or  rather,  perhaps,  who  will  not 
stop  by  the  way,  or  not  do  something  else,  just 
as  he  demands,  becomes  a  momentary  victim, 
and  has  to  take  a  push,  pinch,  or  kick.  And 
what  is  he  at  school?  —  a  self-willed,  insolent 
nuisance  to  the  teacher ;  selfish  and  petulant 
with  the  pupils ;  by  turns,  an  offence  to  every- 
body. It  is  he  who  comes  home  knitting  his 
brows,  grating  his  teeth,  and  muttering  his 
wrath,  perhaps  his  hate,  against  some  one.  It 
is  most  likely  to  be  the  teacher.  It  is  he  who 
makes  the  teacher's  good  appear  nothing  but 
evil  before  the  parent ;  and,  alas  !  that  parent, 
spoiled  also,  has  not  the  justice  and  the  good 
sense,  not  the  common  sense,  to  go  to  the  teach- 
er, and  hear  his  account  of  the  matter :  no ; 
but  rather  repeats  and  propagates  the  child's 
misstatements.  At  length  arise  gross  calumnies 
and  intense  bitterness  ;  and  sometimes,  espe- 
cially in  country  towns,  comes  the  breaking-up 
of  the  school  itself,  sometimes  of  neighborly 
peace  besides.  These  spoiled  children  are  abso- 
lute robbers.  Do  they  not  compel  the  teacher 
to  leave  his  duty  to  others  to  take  care  of  them  ? 
Do  they  not  wrest  time  and  teaching  from  the 
whole  school  ?  And  why  not  ?  Look  into  that 


44  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

family  den  whence  these  depredators  have  issued 
forth,  and  their  felonious  characters  are  at  once 
accounted  for. 

Let  us  now  just  glance  at  a  contrast.  Here 
is  a  child  to  whom  "  No "  has  always  been 
no.  The  negative,  once  put  down,  stays,  un- 
less there  shall  be  some  peculiar  change  of  cir- 
cumstances. He  has  been  trained  never  to  be 
impatient.  He  has  learned  to  confide  in  the 
love  and  the  wisdom  which  cross  his  inclina- 
tions. "Well,  his  request  is  refused  ;  what  then? 
He  drops  not  a  tear,  says  not  a  word,  but  away  he 
trips  to  something  else,  —  to  his  work,  his  books, 
or  his  play.  He  skips  like  a  lamb,  he  capers  in 
the  breeze,  he  carols  like  a  bird,  —  a  happy  boy 
still,  the  well-governed  and  trustingly  obedient 
son  of  a  wise  parent,  —  God's  best  angel  in  the 
flesh. 

Verily,  these  weak  parents  spend  absolutely 
more  time  in  running  after  and  coaxing,  and 
trying  to  govern,  their  children,  ten  times  over, 
forty  times  over,  than  the  judicious  disciplinari- 
an. Said  an  excellent  lady,  whose  grandchildren 
were  of  the  sort  described,  "  Oh  !  if  my  daughter 
had  not  so  much  to  do,  she  would  have  time  to 
train  her  children."  I  could  have  told  her, 
that  the  very  reason  why  her  daughter  did  not 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN   THE   FAMILY.  45 

have  time  to  train  her  children  was  because  she 
had  not,  in  good  season,  taken  time  to  train 
them.  Her  neglect  led  to  misrule  ;  and  this 
misrule  compelled  her,  at  length,  to  attempt  to 
rule  at  a  great  expense  of  time,  strength,  and 
patience,  and,  after  all,  with  but  little  success. 
To  what  wretched  shifts  are  such  imbeciles 
sometimes  driven !  How  often  are  methods 
adopted  which  the  plainest  common  sense  might 
perceive  to  be  the  immediate  antecedents  of 
evils  worse  than  those  which  are  sought  to  be 
presented ! 

Not  a  few  resort  to  stratagem,  to  downright 
deception.  The  consequence  is,  the  quick-eyed 
child  soon  sees  through  the  trick.  He  reads 
the  natural,  unbidden  language  of  the  tone  and 
the  countenance,  contradicting  the  words  ;  and 
he  receives  a  lesson  in  deception,  —  indeed,  in 
falsehood,  —  which  he  will  practise  back  again  : 
yea,  he  will  pay  off  his  parent  for  such  profitable 
instruction  by  lying,  and  with  compound  inte- 
rest. 

Others  —  God's  vicegerents  though  they  are, 
with  absolute  authority,  and  sufficient  strength 
to  enforce  it  —  humbly  pay  for  permission  to  ex- 
ercise a  rightful  control.  They  hire  their  liege 
subjects  to  obey.  Ah !  what  promises  of  rides, 


4G  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNHENT,    AND 

sights,  plays,  playthings  ;  or,  what  is  worse,  of 
pie,  cake,  candy,  —  any  thing  that  shall  pervert 
still  more  an  already  perverted  palate,  and 
weaken  even  further  an  already  weak  sense 
of  duty  !  —  for  this  is  the  consequence.  These 
domestic  rulers  flatter  themselves,  that  by  these 
means  they  have  exercised  due  authority,  — 
have  secured  obedience.  But  this  is  not  autho- 
rity or  obedience  :  it  is  a  bargain,  the  benefit  of 
which  is  mostly  on  one  side.  The  child  thus 
trafficked  with  and  tempted  will  practise  his 
first  Yankee  shrewdness  on  his  own  parent. 
He  will  wait  and  wait,  and  wind  up  the  pur- 
chaser to  the  point  at  which  the  pay  suits  him, 
before  he  will  close  in.  Thus  he  exchanges 
obedience  for  what,  in  business,  is  called  a 
"  valuable  consideration ;  "  or,  to  use  another 
mercantile  phrase,  he  performs  a  "  pretty  little 
operation  " —  on  his  own  father  or  mother.  What 
an  absurdity  !  The  Almighty  God's  own  nearest 
agent,  possessing  an  adult  body,  equipped  with 
two  strong  arms  and  two  capable  hands,  and 
having  this  very  God  and  his  Holy  Word, 
and  also  conscience  and  common  sense,  in  sup- 
port,—  what  an  absurdity,  what  a  sin,  to  stoop 
down,  down,  to  buy  up,  not  obedience,  but  tardy 
compliance,  of  tiny  weakness  !  Alas  !  how  will 


NO-GOVKRNMENT   IN   THE   FAMILY.  47 

even  wisdom  sometimes  change  suddenly  to 
folly,  and  substance  and  strength  fall  into  very 
nothingness,  in  this  matter  of  government ! 
While  delivering  lectures  on  domestic  educa- 
tion, I  was  once  the  guest  of  an  excellent  lady. 
She  was  a  very  mother  in  her  own  little  Israel, 
and  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  cause.  She  really 
wished  that  "  every  parent  in  town  could  hear 
the  lectures ;  they  were  so  much  needed,  and 
they  would  do  so  much  good."  But  one  day  I 
saw  her  gliding  along  to  a  cupboard,  her  little 
boy  tripping  after.  Soon  she  furtively  slipped 
in  her  hand,  and  snatched  out  a  golden  and  most 
tempting  piece  of  cake,  and  slid  it  into  the  hand 
of  the  child ;  while  she  leaned  down  to  his  ear 
with  the  softly  whispered  injunction  (but  I  heard 
it),  "  There  :  now  go,  and  do  it."  And  this  was 
a  pattern  mother  of  the  town.  It  seemed  as  if  a 
blow  fell  on  my  naked  heart.  "  Ah  !  how  little 
good  am  I  doing,  after  all ! "  thought  I.  "  All 
is  vanity,"  said  the  Preacher  of  old.  "  All  is 
vanity "  was  then  despairingly  echoed  by  one 
poor  preacher  of  the  present. 

Many  have  a  habit  of  threatening  as  a  means 
of  government.  You  will  hear  them  say,  "  I'll 
put  you  into  the  closet,"  or  "  out  into  the  entry," 
or  "down  cellar!"  How  seldom  is  the  threat 


48  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

executed  !  Thus  the  parent  not  only  betrays 
an  utter  powerlessness,  but  also  sets  an  exam- 
ple of  falsehood.  But  if  the  offender  shall,  at 
length,  be  thrust  into  the  fearful  place,  the  un- 
comfortable spirit  is  not  thrust  out  of  him.  He 
scratches,  he  pushes,  he  thumps  the  door ;  he 
splits  his  mother's  ears  with  his  screeches  for 
some  five  long  minutes,  perhaps  ;  when  she,  quite 
overcome,  opens  a  chink  just  to  parley  a  little, 

—  to  say,  "  Now,  my  son,  if  you'll  only  behave 
yourself,  I'll"  —  but  she  does  not  finish  her  pro- 
position ;  for  he  puts  his  two  hands  through  that 
strip  of  daylight,  pushes  aside  the  door,  and  his 
mother  too,  and  rushes  out  like  the  gust  of  a 
tempest.      Then   he    continues   to   plague    that 
weak-souled  parent  till  weariness  and  sleep  im- 
prison him  for  the  night ;   yet  only  to  be  let 
loose  again  in  the  morning,  —  the  same  little 
storm-spirit  as  before,  ever  blowing  the  parental 
threat  back  on  the  breath  that  uttered  it. 

I  have  known  those  who  would  have  been 
perfectly  horrified  at  the  idea  of  a  woman's  pre- 
suming on  her  right  to  exercise  the  butchering 
business,  and  to  wield  the  knife  and  the  cleaver, 

—  1  have  heard  such  threaten  most  fiercely  to 
skin  their  own  offspring ;    to  skin  them  alive ; 
to  take  off  every  inch,  as  sure  as  they  were 
born. 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN    THE   FAMILY.  49 

I  have  heard  even  more  terrible  threats  than 
these.  One  day,  as  I  was  passing  some  Irish 
dwellings  in  Boston,  my  ears  were  suddenly 
shocked  by  the  exclamation,  in  a  fierce,  feminine 
voice,  together  with  the  native  brogue,  "  If  you 
don't  go  'long,  I'll  kull  ye  ! "  I  was  seized  with 
a  curious  impulse,  and,  in  a  moment,  was  within 
the  door  whence  came  the  screech  ;  and  there 
sat  a  handsome  young  Irishwoman,  looking  not 
at  all  as  if  she  really  meant  to  kill  her  little  boy, 
who,  near  by,  looked  not  at  all  as  if  he  expected 
to  be  murdered  by  his  own  dear  mother.  I  did 
not  soften  her  surprise  at  my  unexpected  intru- 
sion with  even  a  "  Good-morning  !  "  but  put  the 
question  at  once,  "  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you 
intend  to  kill  your  child?"  and  she  burst  out  into 
a  good-natured  laugh,  and  replied,  "  Oh  !  I  have 
to  use  the  buggest  word  I  can  thunk  of,  or  he 
won't  go  'long."  As  I  left  this  poor,  ignorant 
Irish  mother,  I  could  not  but  reflect  that  there 
is  also  many  an  American  parent,  better  oft'  in 
every  way,  who  uses  big  words  to  make  a  child 
"  go  along;"  and  often,  the  bigger  the  word,  the 
more  he  will  not  go. 

In  these  days  of  humane  ameliorations,  cor- 
poral punishment  savors  of  cruelty,  and  is  by 
many  considered  a  shocking  barbarity.  Few 
•i 


50  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

parents  can  bear  to  have  bodily  pain  inflicted  on 
a  child  at  school ;  yet  I  have  often  seen  those 
who  are  given  to  the  most  excessive  indulgence, 
and  who  would  almost  melt  with  tears  of  sym- 
pathy at  any  accidental  trouble  to  the  darling, 
—  I  have  seen  such,  in  momentary  excitement, 
assail  that  same  tender  creature  with  a  violence 
which  would  be  deemed  entirely  behind  the  age, 
if  resorted  to  at  school.  Here  is  a  catalogue  of 
such  parental  inflictions :  pats,  slaps,  pulls,  dabs, 
twists,  twitches,  tweaks,  pinches,  pokes,  pushes, 
cuffs,  shakings  (almost  to  very  pieces),  down- 
right whippings  with  a  little  stick,  and  possibly 
thumps  with  something  heavier  still. 

It  may,  however,  really  be  necessary  sometimes 
to  resort  to  corporal  punishment ;  to  give  a  real, 
old-fashioned  whipping  with  the  old-fashioned 
rod,  —  even  Solomon's  rod.  The  strong,  lower 
nature  cannot  be  subdued,  perhaps,  any  other 
way.  This  is  often  the  case  when  due  discipline 
has  been  neglected  too  long.  Sometimes  a  hard- 
ened child  or  youth  comes  from  unfaithful  hands 
into  other  and  more  conscientious  care  ;  and  it 
is  felt,  at  length,  that  decided  steps  are  to  be 
taken.  Now,  if  there  is  to  be  whipping,  let  it 
be  a  whipping,  especially  if  the  subject  is  of 
considerable  size.  Let  some  time  elapse  be- 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN   THE   FAMILY.  51 

tween  the  offence  and  the  punishment,  that  the 
culprit  may  think  the  matter  over,  feel  his  guilti- 
ness, and  shrink  from  the  correcting  hand  before 
it  is  lifted :  thus  his  soul  shall  be  whipped  as 
well  as  his  body,  and  with  more  than  twofold 
effect.  Then,  when  the  hour  of  infliction  shall 
come,  let  it  be  a  solemn  hour,  —  a  season  of 
earnest  prayer  for  a  right  spirit ;  let  it  be  as 
if  the  heavens  darkened  down,  and  the  guar- 
dian angels  were  looking  through  the  gloom  with 
starry  eyes,  taking  note  of  the  transaction  in  their 
books  of  remembrance,  from  which  you  yourself 
are  to  be  judged.  So  let  it  be,  and  such  a  pun- 
ishment may  be  blessed  by  the  Most  Merciful, 
and  be  the  beginning  of  a  permanent  reform. 

There  are  numerous  mild  methods  of  disci- 
pline which  may  be  adopted  with  all  desirable 
results  in  the  case  of  many  little  offenders. 
Give  a  child  nothing  to  do ;  fasten  him  to  a 
seat :  let  there  be  nothing  which  he  can  play 
with,  or  any  way  use,  within  reach,  —  not  even 
a  particle  of  sand ;  for,  if  there  shall  be,  he  will 
try  to  solve  with  it  the  problem  of  the  infinite 
divisibility  of  matter.  Restless  activity  is  al- 
most as  constant  a  condition  and  want  of  his 
nature  as  breathing  is.  Let  him,  then,  have 
plenty  of  the  opposite  inaction ;  burden  him 


52  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERXMENT,   AND 

with  nothing  to  do ;  and  you  are  about  as  likely 
to  reach  the  difficulty  as  in  any  other  way,— 
this,  too,  without  absolute  bodily  pain. 

You  may  send  a  wrong-doer  to  bed  in  the 
bright  daytime.  Take  away  his  clothes,  and 
every  possible  occupation  ;  and  then  let  him 
continue  —  rolling  from  side  to  side,  seeking 
rest,  not  to  his  body,  but  to  his  feelings  — 
until  he  shall  resolve  to  amend,  and  shall  hum- 
bly promise  so  to  do.  But  give  not  over  until 
you  conquer,  if  it  shall  take  a  month.  There 
are  various  other  privations  of  customary  plea- 
sures and  comforts  which  might  be  tried  with 
good  effect.  Let  there  be  an  inevitable  cer- 
tainty, that  any  specific  transgression  shall  be 
punished  with  some  specific  privation,  and  the 
method,  in  most  cases,  will  be  successful. 

Let  me  not  be  understood  as  advising  an  iron 
rigor,  with  its  hard,  sharp,  cutting  severity.  I 
simply  counsel  resolution  and  efficiency,  accom- 
panied by  as  much  mildness  as  Christian  love 
can  breathe  into  your  character.  There  may  be 
all  the  firmness  of  the  rock,  with  all  the  velvet 
softness  of  the  mosses  that  grow  upon  and  adorn 
it.  The  child  respects  real  authority.  "When 
he  knows  and  feels  that  the  parent  possesses 
a  truly  conscientious  determination,  together 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN   THE    FAMILY.  53 

with  all  due  parental  love  and  tenderness,  re- 
verence and  love  are  likely  to  be  his  permanent 
dispositions.  To  obey,  when  occasion  requires, 
will  be  a  habit.  Take  an  illustration  from  the 
sun:  there  he  stands,  —  the  great  paternal  lu- 
minary,—  keeping  around  him  and  holding  fast 
his  family  of  worlds,  each  in  its  proper  place ; 
pouring  out  his  golden  beams,  awakening  the 
verdure,  opening  the  flowers,  ripening  the  fruits, 
profusely  shedding  beauty,  but  making  no  noise. 
Let  it  be  so  with  parentage  centred  in  the 
home,  —  strong,  loving,  luminous,  quiet,  but  ever 
there  ;  an  unmoved,  immovable,  central  power. 
Why  should  not  children  love  and  grow  and 
blossom  and  be  blessed  under  such  unfailing, 
genial  influence? 

Another  mode  of  amendment  is  to  keep  a 
record  of  failings  and  amendments.  An  admo- 
nition of  to-day  is  often  forgotten  by  to-morrow, 
in  the  whirl  of  giddy  thought.  Again :  words 
may  be  uttered,  in  reply,  not  altogether  respect- 
ful in  tone,  if  they  should  be  in  meaning.  This 
may  excite  harshness  in  the  parent ;  and  then 
really  disrespectful  language  in  rejoinder  bursts 
out  from  the  child,  and  both  advice  and  autho- 
rity are  more  unheeded  than  ever.  All  this  may 
be  avoided  by  a  silent  record  in  a  blank  book. 


54  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

There,  in  the  kindest  spirit,  explain  the  nature 
of  a  wrong  disposition,  and  put  down  the  several 
circumstances  of  any  instance  of  misconduct. 
Now,  this  will  be  a  momentous  matter  to  a  child. 
It  is  in  black  and  white,  almost  like  print.  It 
can  be  read  in  solitude,  and  in  moments  of  so- 
ber reflection,  when  the  words  of  wisdom  and 
tenderness  will  be  apt  to  sink  deep  into  the 
heart.  This  record  does  not  perish  in  the  air 
like  words  uttered  by  the  mouth.  There  it  is, 
to  meet  the  eye  again  to-morrow,  or  a  month 
or  a  year  hence.  There  it  is,  moreover,  to  be 
seen  by  the  other  parent,  —  the  father,  for  in- 
stance, —  when  he  shall  come  in.  To  a  daugh- 
ter tenderly  attached  to  a  father,  it  is  a  fearful 
spectacle,  —  that  of  this  beloved  and  revered 
parent  reading  such  a  record  with  a  tearful  eye, 
a  saddened  countenance,  and  a  meaning  glance 
now  and  then  at  the  misdoer.  Let  the  child's 
character,  as  it  unfolds,  continue  to  be  registered, 
the  good  as  well  as  the  evil ;  the  improvements 
in  an  especial  manner,  as  an  encouragement.  If 
an  ordinary  story  shall  be  of  use,  this  cannot 
but  be  so.  It  is  the  child's  own  passing  life  and 
changing  character  put  into  a  permanent  book,  — 
the  life  giving  back  visible  lessons  to  the  heart 
from  which  that  life  has  issued  forth. 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN  THE   FAMILY.  55 

Finally :  one  of  the  surest  methods  of  secur- 
ing filial  reverence  and  obedience  is  to  sur- 
round and  consecrate  the  relation  of  .parent  and 
child  by  religious  associations.  Next  to  that  of 
God,  the  name  of  the  earthly  parent  should  be 
hallowed.  In  the  nearest  possible  relationship 
stand  father  and  mother  to  the  Father  in  heaven. 
They  receive  the  soul  from  his  generating  spi- 
rit ;  they  take  the  body  from  his  framing  hand. 
They  receive  the  charge  of  life  directly  from 
the  Self- existent  and  Eternal  Life.  Who  ap- 
proach nearer  to  the  Lord  God  Almighty  than 
they?  Verily,  if  any  relation  is  holy,  it  is 
theirs.  At  first,  they  stand  between  the  Most 
High  and  their  offspring.  They  are  the  shadow- 
ing-forth  of  his  power  and  majesty  and  love. 
It  is  through  them  that  he  bows  the  heavens, 
and  comes  down  to  the  least  of  his  little  ones  on 
earth.  For  the  child,  in  the  first  instance,  does 
not  know  any  thing  concerning  his  heavenly 
Parent ;  but  he  does  know  his  own  visible  fa- 
ther and  mother.  These  are  a  sort  of  first 
deities  to  him  :  they  are  great,  very  great, 
to  his  littleness.  Their  might  is  irresistible, 
their  authority  absolute,  their  care  ever  ready, 
their  love  unfailing.  All  he  possesses  and  en- 
joys is  chiefly  from  them.  They  are  the  first, 


56  GOVERNMENT,   MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

the  greatest,  the  wisest,  the  most  affectionate, 
and  the  most  tenderly  beloved  beings  known. 
Home,  moreover,  is  all  the  heaven  of  which  he 
at  first  knows.  Now,  when  the  idea  of  the 
Father  most  high,  our  Father  in  heaven,  is  pre- 
sented, the  little  soul  but  runs  up  from  inferior 
attributes,  with  which  he  is  already  acquainted, 
to  higher  ones  of  a  similar  kind.  How  impor- 
tant, then,  that  the  earthly  relative  should  most 
truly  show  forth  the  qualities  of  that  relation- 
ship which  is  of  all  others  the  highest  and  the 
holiest !  As  the  little  learner  shall  associate 
one  with  the  other,  how  will  the  reverence 
and  obedience  to  both  be  intermingled  and  con- 
firmed, and  become  an  abiding  and  controlling 
principle  of  the  life  !  Let  that  parent,  then, 
be  faithful,  not  so  much  to  his  own  as  to  the 
heavenly  Father's  child.  It  is  through  him 
as  an  instrumentality  that  the  Eternal  would 
bestow  his  earliest  and  his  best  blessing  on 
the  newly  existent  immortal,  especially  the 
blessing  of  spiritual  and  religious  nurture.  He 
is  consecrated  to  a  holier  work  than  ever  was 
priest,  and  in  a  holier  temple  than  was  ever 
reared  by  human  hands.  He  is  to  lead  this 
undying  spirit  to  its  own  Father  in  the  high- 
est, in  the  temple  of  home.  In  this  place, 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN   THE   FAMILY.  57 

if  anywhere  below,  there  should  be  an  altar, 
and  a  worship  the  purest  and  the  most  faithful. 
If  any  priesthood  should  never  neglect  its  duty, 
the  priesthood  here  should  never  fail.  This 
family  shrine  should  be  the  holy  of  holies  to  the 
little  one  there  kneeling.  It  should  be  the  most 
sacred  as  well  as  the  dearest  spot  on  earth.  As 
that  revered  father  shall  read  the  Word,  and  as  he 
shall  lift  the  devout,  sincere  soul  in  prayer,  lead- 
ing the  circle  of  loved  and  linked  hearts  to  the 
sole  Hearer  of  prayer,  how  will  he  increasingly 
reflect  upon  the  subdued  and  solemnized  child 
somewhat  of  the  love  unspeakable  and  the  light 
full  of  glory  which  fall  upon  him  from  above  ! 
The  earthly  relations  will  be  indissolubly  asso- 
ciated with  the  divine  ;  and  this  changeful, 
lower  home,  with  the  everlasting,  ever-blessed 
heavens.  Now,  with  other  judicious  training, 
how  will  reverence  for  rightful  authority  possess 
the  filial  soul !  With  due  fidelity  on  the  part  of 
those  charged  with  the  care  of  the  dispositions 
and  the  habits,  obedience  will  become  a  con- 
firmed characteristic.  With  faithful  endeavors, 
and  with  God's  blessing,  the  apostolic  injunction 
can  hardly  fail  to  be  heeded:  "  Children,  obey 
your  parents  in  the  Lord ;  for  this  is  right." 
How  solemn  will  seem  that  commandment  of 


58  GOVERNMENT,   MFSGOVERNMENT,   AND 

the  Ancient  of  days,  given  amid  the  awfulness 
of  Sinai,  yet  with  graciousness  and  significant 
promise,  "  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother  " ! 

Oh  that  mothers  knew  their  power !  It  is  as 
spirit  and  might  from  God.  There  is  nothing 
this  side  of  heaven  and  the  angels  so  strong  as 
a  mother's  teaching,  prompted  by  a  mother's 
love,  and  this,  blessed  by  the  divine  answering 
of  a  mother's  prayers.  I  have  a  most  appropri- 
ate illustration. 

While  in  the  exercise  of  a  missionary  mini- 
stry in  Boston,  I  was  one  day  hastening  along 
what  was  considered  not  only  the  crookedest, 
but  the  filthiest  and  the  wickedest,  street  in  the 
city.  I  had  been  informed,  that,  in  a  cellar 
there,  a  half-  drunken  man  and  his  equally 
drunken  wife  were  selling  liquor  to  make  others 
wholly  drunken,  if  thereby  gain  might  be  added 
to  gain.  I  felt  that  I  must  stop  a  moment  to 
remonstrate.  While  in  the  place,  there  came 
in  a  young  man,  tall,  finely  formed,  and  athletic, 
with  a  bright  and  interesting  countenance.  He 
leaned  his  elbow  on  the  bar,  as  if  waiting  for 
the  stranger  to  retire,  —  probably  that  he  might 
more  freely  obtain  his  dram.  I  presumed  it 
seemed  to  him  that  I  had  a  sort  of  missionary 
aspect.  I  soon  addressed  him  with  a  kindly 


NO-GOVERNMENT   IN   THE   FAMILY.  59 

greeting,  and  received  a  civil  reply.  I  then 
inquired  if  his  mother  were  living.  In  an  in- 
stant, his  cheek  was  flushed  and  his  eye  mois- 
tened; and  he  tremulously  replied,  "No,  sir:  my 
mother  has  been  dead  fourteen  years."  Then, 
looking  him  steadily  but  kindly  in  the  face,  I 
further  inquired,  "  Did  your  mother  teach  you 
to  pray,  my  young  friend  ?  Did  she  teach  you  re- 
ligion ? "  The  color  deepened  on  his  cheek, 
and  his*  eyes  filled  with  tears ;  and  in  choked  ac- 
cents he  stammered  out,  "0  sir!  my  mother  was 
a  good  woman  :  she  did  teach  me  to  pray  ;  she 
did  teach  me  religion.  I  thought  I  had  religion 
myself,  once  ;  but  it  is  all  gone  now."  I  imme- 
diately stepped  up  to  his  side,  took  him  by 
the  arm,  and  said,  "  My  young  friend,  this  is  no 
place  for  you.  Come,  go  with  me."  Then  I  led 
him  up  those  creaking,  crazy  steps  as  if  he  had 
been  the  veriest  child.  I  conversed  with  him  a 
few  minutes  longer  while  standing  on  the  pave- 
ment, and  warm  tears  fell  from  his  eyes  upon 
the  cold,  red  brick ;  but,  being  in  haste,  I  took 
him  to  an  intelligent  friend  not  far  off,  and 
asked  that  he  would  detain  him  somehow  till  I 
could  return  and  hold  further  conversation.  But 
I  did  not  see  the  young  man  again.  He  went 
soon  into  the  country,  returning  but  once,  as  I 


GO  GOVERNMENT,    MISGOVERNMENT,   AND 

understood,  to  get  some  necessary  articles ;  and 
then  he  entirely  disappeared.  I  know  not  what 
became  of  him  from  that  time  onward.  But  I 
received  a  singular,  and  to  me,  at  that  time,  a 
surprising  account  of  him  on  that  very  day.  I 
requested  a  police  watchman  of  that  district  to 
accompany  me  in  the  evening  in  a  visit  to  the 
many  cellar  haunts  in  that  street,  similar  to,  and 
perhaps  worse  than,  the  one  I  had  entered  in 
the  morning.  I  wanted  his  protection  from  dan- 
ger, or  at  least  insult,  as  I  wished  to  make  some 
investigations  for  a  moral  purpose,  which  I  was 
set  to  do  by  the  committee  of  the  association 
under  which  I  operated.  He  told  me  that  he 
was  engaged,  arid  that  the  whole  body  of  the 
city  police  were  also  engaged,  on  special  duty 
for  that  evening.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  I  can  tell 
you  of  a  young  man,  who,  if  you  can  secure  his 
company,  will  keep  you  safe  ;  for  everybody  in 
the  street  is  afraid  of  him."  To  my  exceeding 
surprise,  he  mentioned  the  very  person  whom  I 
had  met  in  the  cellar  that  morning.  This  young 
man  had  before  been  the  ringleader  of  the 
riots  of  the  street,  the  rowdiest  of  the  rowdy,  — 
the  very  Anak  among  the  strong.  When  he 
came  swinging  his  big  fist  and  screeching  with 
his  almost  wild-beast  voice,  the  stoutest  and  the 


.   NO-GO VERJUIENT  IN   THE   FAMILY.  61 

bravest  stood  aside,  and  let  him  pass.  He  had, 
at  length,  been  put  into  jail  for  riot.  From  this 
durance  he  had  just  come  out.  He  was  con- 
siderably sobered,  probably,  as  the  watchman 
knew,  and  intending  to  be  more  cautious  in  his 
conduct,  but  still  carrying  sufficient  of  his  past 
reputation  to  make  others  stand  off  and  keep 
clear.  At  this  point  in  his  history,  I  met  him  in 
the  cellar.  I  was  a  perfect  stranger.  He  had 
no  interest  in  me.  He  would  not  have  struck 
me,  perhaps ;  but  he  might  have  turned  away 
surlily,  or  have  given  me  an  insolent  reply.  But 
no :  I  spoke  two  or  three  words ;  they  seemed  to 
be  spiritually  electric, —  mother,  prayer,  religion ; 
and  the  strong  and  the  feared  one  seemed  utter- 
ly subdued.  I  took  and  led  him  out  of  that  foul 
drinking  den  as  if  he  were  the  smallest  boy  that 
could  walk;  and  I  committed  him,  while  in  tears 
like  a  child,  to  the  care  of  a  friend.  It  was  the 
remembrance  of  a  mother's  teaching  and  prayers 
that  now  came  over  him.  Was  it  not  in  answer 
to  those  prayers  that  a  way  was  opened  through 
the  stone  around  the  heart,  so  that  the  waters 
of  contrition  gushed  forth,  cleansing  in  their 
course,  and  preparing  for  the  regenerating  spi- 
rit of  God? 

Now,  mothers,  will  you  not  teach  your  chil- 


62  GOVERNMENT,  ETC.,   IN   THE  FAMILY. 

dren  to  pray  ?  and  will  you  not  pray  with 
them?  Will  you  not  teach  them  religion?  Fa- 
thers, shall  these  partners  in  parentage,  shall 
these  hearts  joined  with  yours  in  the  most  re- 
sponsible duties,  be  the  only  servants  of  God 
who  shall  teach,  pray,  and  be  faithful  in  that 
holiest  of  all  places,  the  home  ? 


LECTURE 


MANAGEMENT    OF  THE   SELFHOOD. 


I.    THE  RULE  FOR  IT. 
II.    HOW  THIS  RULE  IS  NEGLECTED. 
III.    HINTS  ON  ITS   OBSERVANCE. 


NOTE. 


ESPECIAL  attention  is  invited  to  the  introductory  pages  of  the 
following  Lecture.  Here  is  set  forth,  though  very  imperfectly,  an 
all-important  principle  in  education  ;  one  which,  if  made  a  chief 
aim  in  culture  and  in  life,  would  change  earth  to  a  paradise.  The 
more  clearly  this  shall  be  understood  in  the  outset,  the  more  effective 
are  likely  to  be  the  subsequent  strictures  and  suggestions. 

The  few  physiological  hints  interspersed,  though  not  appertaining 
to  the  main  subject,  presented  themselves  so  readily,  that  the  oppor- 
tunity was  seized  for  needful  service  in  this  much-neglected  direc- 
tion. 

The  remarks  on  the  forced  and  untimely  activity  of  the  infantile 
brain  are  commended  to  serious  consideration.  This  all-prevalent 
error  should  be  conversed  upon  in  the  household  and  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  the  law  of  soundness  be  rigidly  enforced,  if  parents  would 
save  the  helpless  child  from  much  suffering,  and  themselves  from 
harassing  discomfort. 


LECTURE 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE   SELFHOOD. 


OD  is  love.  Prompted  by  this,  he  is  ever 
exercising  all  his  infinite  attributes  to  bless 
his  creation.  As  to  human  beings,  however,  he 
cannot  bless  them  in  the  highest,  without  their 
own  consent.  If  husband  and  wife,  parents  and 
children,  brothers  and  sisters,  do  not  lovingly 
discharge  their  mutual  duties,  then  that  good 
cannot  be  given  which  God  has  in  store.  It  is 
only  through  their  own  hearts  and  hands  that 
domestic  felicities  can  reach  them.  If  neigh- 
bors interchange  no  sincere  kindnesses,  then  the 
best  advantages  of  vicinage  are  not  enjoyed. 
So  throughout  the  whole  great  family  of  our 
race :  man  is,  from  the  heart,  to  bless  man, 
according  to  nearness  and  ability  and  to  oppor- 
tunity in  general,  or  the  common  Father's  boun- 
tiful provisions  will  be  unused  and  his  plans  not 
carried  out.  God  must  abide  by  his  own  wise 
5 


66  MANAGEMENT   OP   THE   SELFHOOD. 

and  pre-existent  laws.  He  will  not  crush  the 
order  of  his  universe  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
refuse  to  conform.  Whoever,  therefore,  does  his 
duty  to  others,  is  in  his  own  person,  as  it  were, 
the  lengthening-out  of  the  arm  of  the  Infinite 
Giver ;  so  that  he  drops  his  bounty  into  capaci- 
ties otherwise  unreached.  Whoever  does  not 
perform  his  duty  to  others,  hinders  even  the 
Almighty  from  bestowing  the  good  he  intends. 
Indeed,  the  Most  Merciful  is  at  any  moment 
actually  waiting  to  pour  sweet  satisfactions 
through  the  hearts  and  lives  of  millions ;  but 
they  will  not  let  him.  Unloving  relatives,  quar- 
relsome or  neglectful  nejghbors,  and  unjustly 
warring  nations,  turn  away  from  the  infinite 
fountain  of  good,  and  will  not  receive  its  ever- 
ready  streams. 

It  is  a  common  idea,  that  the  recipient  of  a 
favor  is  the  one  most  benefited  ;  but  it  is  not  so, 
if  we  consider  the  inner  as  well  as  the  outer  life. 
The  bestower,  if  he  possesses  a  right  motive 
and  spirit,  is  more  blessed  than  the  receiver. 
He  has  the  satisfaction  of  witnessing  another's 
increased  enjoyment,  and  of  being  the  object  of 
thankfulness  and  of  warmer  attachment.  But 
it  is  not  necessary  to  the  enjoyment  of  doing 
good  that  the  object  of  it  should  know  whence 


MANAGEMENT   OP   THE   SELFHOOD.  C7 

it  comes,  so  as  to  be  grateful  to  the  individual 
benefactor.  There  is  a  reward  richer  than  the 
deepest  gratitude  or  the  tenderest  sensibility 
of  the  person  benefited :  it  is  that  which  arises 
from,  indeed  which  exists  in,  the  affection  itself 
that  prompts  to  the  action.  The  love  which  is 
not  only  felt,  but  which  is  disinterestedly  active, 
toward  another,  is  the  very  essence  of  happi- 
ness. The  divine  and  all-perfect  character  will 
illustrate  this.  God  is  love.  The  infinitely 
intense  consciousness  of  this  love,  the  never- 
ceasing  outflowing  of  it  through  innumerable 
channels  in  his  recipient  creation,  are  what  con- 
stitute his  blessedness ;  at  least,  in  a  large  de- 
gree. It  is  not  what  his  children  feel  toward 
him  and  do  for  him  that  makes  him  happy,  but 
what  he  feels  toward  and  does  for  them.  Just 
so  the  highest  felicity  of  man  consists  in  the 
possession,  the  consciousness,  and  the  outflowing 
of  a  similar  love.  In  all  the  relations  of  life,  it 
is  not  what  we  receive  from  others  which  gives 
us  the  purest  and  most  intense  pleasure :  it  is 
what  we  feel  inwardly  toward  them. 

Once,  in  my  own  presence,  a  mother,  holding 
her  infant  upon  her  lap,  and  gazing  intently  into 
its  face,  exclaimed,  "  Oh  !  I  could  sit  here  all 
day,  and  ask  for  no  other  happiness  than  to  look 


C8  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

at  this  darling  child."  She  was  blessed  in  her 
own  overflowing  maternal  heart.  It  was  not  in 
the  filial  reciprocation  of  it ;  for  that  infant  could 
not  yet  appreciate  and  feel  in  return.  It  is 
the  same  in  all  the  other  domestic  affections,  and 
likewise  in  the  still  wider  relationships.  It  is 
what  each  one  feels  toward  another  that  is  the 
most  thrilliugly  intense,  and  that  makes  the  most 
precious  part  of  the  heart's  treasures.  It  is  not 
the  consciousness  of  reciprocated  attachment, 
though  this  truly  adds  to  the  happiness. 

In  the  circle  of  friendship,  it  is  not  the  atten- 
tions shown  us,  or  the  presents  we  receive, 
which  most  enhance  that  circle :  it  is  what  we 
feel  toward  and  do  for  them.  To  a  properly 
cultivated  and  noble  nature,  there  is  far  more 
gratification  in  making  a  birthday  or  a  New- 
Year's  present  than  in  receiving  one. 

Again :  the  benefactor  to  the  poor  is  blessed 
in  the  very  consciousness  of  a  benevolent  dis- 
position ;  but  he  is  doubly  blessed  when  this 
disposition  is  moved,  and  gushes  out  afresh  in 
a  new  act  of  kindness.  The  late  Amos  Law- 
rence of  Boston  gave  perhaps  of  his  abundant 
means  from  a  sense  of  duty ;  but  he  gave  also 
because  he  loved  to  do  it:  it  made  him  hap- 
py as  such  things  do  the  argels.  When  the 


MANAGKMEXT  OF  THE  SELFHOOD.       GO 

good  doer  lets  not  his  left  hand  know  what  his 
right  doeth,  then  no  praise  of  men  or  no  self- 
praise  disturbs  the  pure  thrilling  bliss  of  the 
prompting,  Heaven-like  love. 

Florence  Nightingale  left  her  healthful,  rural 
home  in  England,  and  shut  herself  up  in  a  hospi- 
tal, in  crowded,  smoky  London,  to  tend  upon 
poor  invalid  women.  She  betook  herself  to 
this  work,  not  for  money  or  for  distinction,  but 
from  that  sweet  benevolence  of  the  heart  which 
is  its  own  reward.  She  went  to  the  Crimea,  and 
confronted  sickness  and  death  in  all  its  horrors, 
to  relieve  the  suffering  soldier.  She  made  her- 
self so  useful  and  dear  to  the  wretched,  that  the 
very  shadow  of  her  person  falling  on  his  pillow 
was  kissed  by  him  in  the  impulsive  throb  of 
his  grateful  bosom.  All  the  emoluments  the 
English  Government  could  bestow  in  compensa- 
tion, all  the  honors  royalty  might  vouchsafe,  to 
this  noble  woman,  would  have  been  no  induce- 
ment to  superintend  those  pestilential  hospitals. 
She  went  because  she  loved  to  go.  Her  heart 
carried  her  thither,  and  her  reward  was  in  the 
heaven  of  her  own  bosom. 

Thus  we  perceive  the  principal  ground  on 
which  was  given  the  golden  command,  '•'  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  It  was 


70  MANAGEMENT    OF   THE  SELFHOOD. 

because  self- forgetful  love  toward  other  living 
beings  is  the  central  spirit  and  inmost  life  of 
true  and  lasting  happiness.  To  love  God  with 
all  the  heart,  and  the  neighbor  as  one's  self,  is 
to  receive  the  very  kingdom  of  Heaven  into  the 
heart.  It  is  to  receive  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  God  himself.  It  is  to  be  like 
God  to  the  utmost  extent  in  which  the  finite  can 
approach  the  Infinite  in  affection  and  blessed- 
ness. 

But  how  little  have  mankind  understood  this 
philosophy  of  their  nature,  and  the  loving  will 
and  beneficent  laws  of  God  !  Even  the  majority 
of  those  brought  up  under  Christian  influences 
do  not  understand.  They  live  and  act  as  if  hap- 
piness was  something  outside  of  them,  or  some- 
thing to  be  grasped  after,  struggled  for,  and 
taken  in.  By  each  individual's  thus  feeling 
and  acting,  there  comes  a  collision  of  one  per- 
son's self  with  another  person's  self,  and  mutual 
repulse,  loss,  and  disappointment.  If  any  do 
succeed  in  gratifying  the  lower  and  selfish  na- 
ture without  offence  to  others,  yet  how  poor  and 
miserable  they  are  notwithstanding  ! 

Each  successive  generation  of  mankind  edu- 
cates its  offspring  in  the  same  ignorance,  to 
make  the  same  mistake,  and  to  suffer  the  same 


MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  71 

wretched  disappointment.  Parents,  by  their 
own  spirit  and  example,  train  and  lead  their 
children  to  shut  out  that  kingdom  of  God  which 
is  waiting  to  come  into  their  souls  in  all  its  ful- 
ness and  felicity.  Even  the  majority  of  pro- 
fessedly Christian  parents,  who  really  desire 
better  things  as  far  as  they  are  sincere,  do,  from 
almost  the  earliest  consciousness  of  their  chil- 
dren, educate  them  into  this  unchristian  and 
most  unheavenly  selfishness.  They  do  that 
which  it  seems  to  me  they  would  utterly  abhor ; 
that  indeed  which  all  loving  and  rational  pa- 
rents would  abhor,  if  they  did  but  understand 
the  true  philosophy  of  happiness.  Why  should 
they  rather  curse  than  bless  those  who  are  so 
dear  to  their  hearts? 

I  propose  now  to  show  some  of  the  occasions 
and  circumstances  through  which  children  are 
educated  to  dispositions  and  habits  of  selfish- 
ness. 

Human  beings,  however  pure,  could  hardly 
but  manifest  something  like  selfishness  in  the 
very  earliest  life  ;  because,  through  utter  igno- 
rance and  inexperience,  they  would  be  conscious 
only  of  their  own  pleasures  and  pains.  Their 
first  attention,  in  the  very  nature  of  things, 
must  be  directed  to  themselves ;  and,  if  they 


72  MANAGEMENT   OP   THE   SELFHOOD. 

should  not  be  specially  informed,  they  must 
come  quite  slowly  to  recognize  the  welfare  of 
their  fellow -creatures.  Besides  this  primary 
and  necessary  regard  for  self,  there  is  very  early 
developed,  in  innocent  ignorance,  as  human  na- 
ture now  is,  an  unheavenly  self-seeking.  Even 
should  there  be  no  injudicious  treatment  on  the 
part  of  friends,  children  in  different  degrees, 
according  to  native  constitution,  show,  quite  uni- 
versally, that  they  do  not  love  their  neighbor 
as  themselves.  It  requires  the  most  faithful 
effort  and  discipline  to  bring  the  child  to  this 
best  law  of  life.  Indeed,  it  needs  the  regene- 
rating spirit  of  God  to  purify  the  soul  from 
self-love.  Watchful  care  and  training  only  put 
the  soul  in  a  receptive  attitude,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  may  enter,  and  make  way  for  the  fulness 
of  the  kingdom  of  love. 

It  is  of  unspeakable  importance,  at  the  earliest 
possible  period,  to  check  this  inborn,  perverse 
selfishness,  and  to  open  the  heart  to  better  dis- 
positions. But,  as  methods  generally  are,  the 
original  tendency  is  perpetually  strengthened. 
Parents,  older  brothers  and  sisters,  and  other 
friends,  join  in  the  baleful,  cruel  work  of  inten- 
sifying self;  and,  of  course,  multiplying  the  mise- 
ries which  must  be  the  consequence. 


MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  73 

A  first  injudicious  step  is  a  premature  awaken- 
ing of  the  intellect.  It  is  very  gratifying  to 
parents  and  others  of  the  family  to  observe  a 
child's  opening  faculties,  and  especially  to  re- 
ceive from  him  an  individualizing  look.  Hence, 
at  the  earliest  stage,  particular  effort  is  made 
to  induce  him  first  to  recognize  them,  and  next  to 
notice  the  inanimate  objects  around.  At  length, 
he  does  observe  more  and  more,  with  less 
and  less  prompting  and  direction  from  others. 
He  now  not  only  sees,  but  desires  to  take 
hold  of  and  to  become  acquainted  with,  things. 
Soon  this  new  intellectual  appetite  comes  to 
be  an  urgent  want ;  and,  unless  it  is  gratified, 
the  infantile  looker  is  uneasy,  and  wriggles 
about  :  he  is  sometimes  quite  uncomfortable, 
and  cries  aloud.  He  must  know,  and  he  must 
have  too.  His  mind  outruns  his  bodily  ability : 
so  others  must  go  and  come  and  bring  for 
him.  If  he  craves  what  should  be  denied,  he 
must  have  it,  or  he  screeches  like  —  not  a  little 
innocent  child.  So  the  harm  must  be  risked, 
for  he  cannot  be  reasoned  with  ;  or,  if  refusal  is 
absolutely  necessary,  how  prolonged  cries  of 
disappointment,  and  perhaps  flashes  of  temper, 
pain  the  parent  and  trouble  the  tender-hearted 
observer  !  He  must  not  play  with  fire  ;  he  shall 


74  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

not  toss  and  swing  about  the  costly  watch  as  he 
does  his  rattle  ;  he  may  scream,  fling  out  his 
hands,  pucker  all  up,  redden  in  the  face,  stretch 
out  stiff,  and  almost  go  into  spasms,  and  yet  no 
one  can  take  down  for  him  the  new  moon  or  the 
evening  star.  Now,  I  Avould  ask,  if  it  would  not 
be  better  to  leave  the  child  to  put  forth  his 
mental  powers  more  slowly  ;  and  then  a  self, 
that  cannot  be  gratified  without  tasking  and 
wearying  others,  will  not  be  so  readily  and  ex- 
cessively developed.  The  grown-up,  with  their 
many  faculties  in  the  highest  state  of  develop- 
ment, do  not  desire  what  they  never  thought 
of:  and  why  should  the  child  crave  and  cry  for 
what  he  knows  nothing  at  all  about?  Again: 
inasmuch  as  the  feeble  perceptives  easily  tire 
of  the  same  object,  a  frequent  change  is  de- 
manded, and  must  be  had,  or  there  is  no  peace. 
So  there  is  a  hurried,  and  often  an  anxious, 
seeking  for  something  new  for  the  unnaturally 
awakened  curiosity.  This  cannot  be  put  down 
at  will,  though  the  nerves  of  all  concerned  pain- 
fully suffer. 

By  such  management,  the  larger  portion  of 
infants  in  civilized  society  require  some  one  to 
hold  them,  to  wait  on  them,  to  carry  them  about, 
and  to  supply  new  objects  of  interest ;  or,  in 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  SELFHOOD.      75 

other  words,  to  amuse  them.  We  now  not  only 
have  the  phrases,  "  Tend  the  baby,"  "  Mind  the 
baby,"  but  "Amuse  the  baby."  He  must  have 
amusements,  as  a  fashionable  woman  must  have 
parties,  balls,  and  theatres  to  keep  her  from 
being  miserable.  He  has  time  on  his  hands  to 
be  killed,  like  some  foolish,  grown-up  people,  who 
have  no  regular  occupation.  In  this  way,  at 
the  very  earliest,  the  inborn,  selfish  tendencies 
are  hurried  forth,  and  hardened  into  abiding 
habits.  Thus  the  quite  young  child  becomes 
the  veriest  tyrant  of  the  household. 

It  was  not  intended  that  the  mind  should 
grow  in  strength  and  activity  disproportioued 
to  the  ability  of  the  material  coverings  and  in- 
struments ;  as  an  illustration  will  make  evident. 
Who  would  prematurely  make  a  child  stand, 
and  bear  his  weight,  on  his  soft,  tender  foot,  and 
slender,  yielding  leg  ?  All  know  the  danger  of 
distorting  the  little  member  out  of  shape.  The 
babe  must  lie  at  length,  before  he  can  sit ;  he 
must  roll  and  sidle  along  before  he  can  creep ; 
and  creep  before  he  can  stand  or  walk.  We 
wait  for  nature  gradually  to  accumulate  strength  r 
sure  that  this  strength  will  be  well  used  in  good 
time.  Other  parts  of  the  frame  are  weak  in 
proportion,  —  the  hand,  arm,  stomach,  and  the 


76  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

very  organs  of  speech.  However  much  the  in- 
fant wonder  may  think  and  have  to  say,  he  can- 
not command  his  organs  of  speech  till  they  have 
attained  a  certain  degree  of  growth,  consistency, 
and  strength.  The  little  material  organization, 
in  a  harmonious  and  healthy  development,  is 
feeble  alike  throughout.  Of  course,  the  brain, 
being  made  of  matter,  is  subject  to  the  laws  of 
matter,  and  is  certainly  weak  with  the  rest 
of  the  body.  Ought  it,  then,  to  be  Exercised 
too  early,  any  more  than  any  other  member? 
Indeed,  the  brain,  in  substance,  texture,  and 
complexity,  is  probably  one  of  the  most  delicate 
organs  of  the  whole  system  ;  and  none  is  more 
liable  to  be  harmed  by  premature  use.  Every 
act  of  observation,  every  newly  awakened  de- 
sire, tasks  the  brain  :  every  ebullition  of  passion, 
—  yes,  the  least  emotion  of  disappointment, — 
when  the  flitting  wish  must  be  crossed,  also 
tasks  the  brain.  This  early  rousing  of  the  per- 
ceptions by  the  quickly  successive  showing  of 
objects,  this  carrying  of  the  child  in  some  new 
direction  to  see  things,  and  this  bringing  of 
other  things  to  him  to  be  seen,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  prematurity,  is  a  similar  folly 
with  that  by  which  a  child  is  put  too  early  and 
assiduously  to  his  school  and  his  books ;  which 


MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  77 

course  is  now  considered  physically  and  men- 
tally destructive,  and  foolish  in  the  extreme. 

If,  however,  the  habit  of  a  premature  curiosity 
has  been  formed,  or  there  is  a  very  peculiar 
constitution,  it  will  require  much  reflection  and 
wisdom  to  deal  with  it ;  but,  somehow,  it  ought 
to  be  modified  and  regulated.  For  health's  sake, 
then,  let  alone  the  infant  brain,  or,  more  proper- 
ly speaking,  the  mind  that  moves  it.  Do  not 
permit  the  intellect  to  peep  through  the  senses 
at  the  strange  things  of  this  new  earth-scene 
any  faster  than  need  be.  When  the  little  ob- 
server shall  come  to  carry  himself,  —  first  upon 
creeping  toes  and  knees,  and  then  upon  his  in- 
dependent feet,  —  still  permit  him  to  make  his 
discoveries  but  slowly,  and  stay  as  long  at  each 
one  as  will  in  any  wise  content  him.  In  this 
way,  you  will  not  stretch  and  twist  and  shatter 
his  tender  nervous  system  by  premature  and 
excessive  action.  He  will  thereby  also,  at  the 
soonest,  begin  to  form  an  important  intellectual 
habit, —  that  of  fixed  and  continued  attention. 
His  little  perceptives  will  not  be  wearied  and 
worn  as  they  would  have  been  if  tasked  earlier  : 
so  that  now. he  can  continue  longer  at  an  object 
without  weariness  or  harm  ;  at  least,  he  can  take 
his  own  abundant  time,  and  not  engross  the 


78  MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

precious  hours  or  minutes  of  another.  By  such 
a  holding-back,  or  rather  by  this  not  hurrying 
forward,  how  will  the  comfort,  and  perhaps 
health,  of  others  be  spared  ?  Ah  !  that  older 
sister  will  not  be  so  often  kept  from  pastime  or 
study,  or  from  easier  and  useful  occupation,  to 
tend  the  babe ;  tossing  him  this  way  and  that ; 
reaching  up  and  taking  down,  first  one  thing, 
and  then  another ;  again  stretching  on  tiptoe, 
and,  with  tip-fingers,  getting  at  still  something 
else  for  his  gratification  ;  or  tugging  with  him 
backward  and  forward,  shifting  from  one  aching 
arm  to  another,  and  hushing  and  humming  her 
breath  away,  to  soothe  him  if  he  must  be  dis- 
appointed ;  and,  withal,  straining  her  limbs, 
wrenching  her  sides,  twisting  her  spine,  perhaps 
crippling  her  for  life,  and  possibly  crushing  her 
into  an  earlier  grave,  as  has  actually  been  the 
case  with  thousands. 

Another  misfortune  may  also  sometimes  be 
avoided,  —  that  of  an  ignorant  and  self-serving 
domestic  stealthily  dealing  paragoric  to  stupefy 
the  unquiet  little  creature  into  sleep,  endanger- 
ing health,  and  even  life.  Thus,  by  letting 
alone,  and  patiently  waiting  Nature's  period,  the 
child  is  far  more  likely  to  retain  his  precious 
health  and  sweet  gentleness,  and  to  have  a  time- 


MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  79 

ly  ability  proportioned  to  his  age.  Indeed,  from 
what  bodily  distemperaments  and  mental  uneasi- 
ness at  present,  and  unnumbered  ills  in  future, 
shall  the  unconscious  innocent  be  saved  !  Still 
further,  from  what  unmelodious  cries  and  pain- 
ful sympathies  and  wearisome  tendance  shall 
the  kindly  household  likewise  escape  ! 

Please  not  to  understand  that  I  would  neglect 
real  and  absolute  wants  :  these  may  be  more  or 
less  numerous  and  urgent,  according  to  native 
constitution ;  and  must  receive  due  attention. 
But  I  do  say, — and  I  say  it  with  emphasis,  —  let 
the  soul  work  its  way  through  the  senses  with- 
out pressure  and  any  hastening  effort,  just  as  the 
flower  emerges  from  the  bud.  It  will  be  all 
the  more  thrifty,  symmetrical,  and  lovely  for 
being  left  to  itself.  Nature,  whether  in  her 
inanimate  or  animate  organizations,  must  be  per- 
mitted her  own  time  and  methods. 

The  necessity  of  food  is  one  of  the  most 
frequent  occasions  for  the  development  of  self- 
ishness in  one  of  its  basest  forms,  —  that  of 
sensuality. 

The  human  organism,  like  any  other  machine, 
wears  out,  and  needs  mending  up.  Food  is  the 
mending  substance.  In  any  case  of  repair, 
the  skilful  mechanic  applies  just  enough  addi- 


80  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE  SELFHOOD. 

tional  material  to  remedy  the  defect,  —  to  make 
the  structure  as  much  like  a  new  one  as  pos- 
sible, and  no  more.  The  waste  made  in  the 
animal  body  is  to  be  supplied  precisely  accord- 
ing to  the  same  rule,  —  just  as  much  fresh 
material,  in  the  form  of  nutriment,  is  to  be 
added  as  will  answer  the  end,  and  no  more.  In 
the  case  of  the  child,  however,  the  means  of 
growth,  besides  this,  are  to  be  furnished ;  or  the 
machine  is  to  be  completed, —  that  is,  brought 
to  its  full  size.  The  want  is  indicated  by  hun- 
ger. This  ceasing,  the  Creator's  end  has  been 
answered.  An  overplus  of  aliment  would  tend 
to  impede  the  action  of  the  organism,  and  to 
disfigure  its  symmetry.  In  the  repair  of  a 
watch,  a  little  too  much  new  material  would 
disturb  the  delicate  mechanism,  and  the  needed 
exactness  of  movement  would  be  lost.  Further 
and  clumsier  tinkerings  would  stop  it  dead.  Is 
it  not  the  same  with  this  human  timepiece,  which 
ticks  the  moments  with  heart-beats  ?  God's  law 
of  mechanical  proportions  and  adjustments,  in  the 
case  of  his  living  workmanship,  is  temperance ; 
and  this  law  cannot  be  violated  with  impu- 
nity. Yet,  alas  !  how  continually  is  it  trans- 
gressed !  In  this  land  of  plenty  and  indulgence, 
many  children  eat  quite  as  much  for  pastime 


MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  81 

and  mere  sensual  pleasure  as  for  use.  Simple, 
nutritious  food,  Nature's  best  mending  stuff,  will 
not  suffice,  as  the  relish  for  such  depends  on 
Nature's  healthy  appetite.  Artificial  tastes  are 
excited  by  artificial  luxuries,  and  these  soon  be- 
come pressing  wants.  How  does  the  evil  begin  ? 
Just  to  amuse  the  newly  weaned,  or  perhaps  the 
unweaned,  infant;  just  to  amuse, —  nothing  more 
is  intended,  —  a  crum  or  a  spoon's-tip  of  some 
rich  compound  is  put  to  his  mouth.  The  flavor 
is  now  first  experienced ;  and  the  little  creature, 
"whose  frame  the  Creator  would  build  strongly 
up  from  the  purest  elements,  is  thus  initiated 
into  high  living.  A  little  further  on  in  his 
months,  he  troubles  the  busy  housekeeper:  so 
some  dainty  diverts  attention  while  she  accom- 
plishes her  affairs.  Or  some  tired  attendant,  in 
this  way,  relieves  herself  from  his  uncomfortable 
humors.  Well,  a  taste  is  fairly  formed  for  eat- 
ing :  eating  becomes  a  fastened  habit.  It  is 
one  of  the  ways  in  which  a  smart  little  fellow, 
two  years  old,  kills  time.  He  is  really  dissipated. 
At  peep  of  day,  he  gives  his  mother  a  slap,  or 
his  father  a  push,  or  the  nurse  (if  she  has  the 
care)  a  pinch,  and  wants  cake,  pie,  candy,  or 
some  other  good  thing.  Then,  all  day  long, 
there  must  still  be,  besides  the  family  meals,  an 
6 


82  MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

occasional  tribute  to  the  palate.  He  is  dull  and 
uncomfortable  :  he  wants  amusement  ;  so  he 
amuses  himself  with  eating,  as  some  other  time- 
killers  do  with  drinking.  As  they  whet  up  the 
appetite  for  dinner,  or  more  probably,  in  the 
long-run,  blunt  it  down,  by  gin,  brandy,  or  rum ; 
so  this  little  beginner  prepares  himself  for  the 
meal  by  a  spicy  piece  of  mince -pie  or  an  unc- 
tuous doughnut.  He  thus  early  becomes  a  gross 
voluptuary. 

What,  now,  is  the  consequence  ?  In  the  earlier 
stages  of  this  gluttonous  career,  thousands  and 
thousands  are  borne  to  the  grave,  indirectly 
killed  by  sheer  indulgence.  Accidental  colds 
are  made  worse,  and  promoted  to  violent  fevers  ; 
disorders  of  the  bowels  are  engendered  ;  heredi- 
tary diseases,  like  the  scrofula,  more  easily  fasten 
an  incurable  hold  ;  indeed,  ills  untold  and  un- 
imagined  are  brought  upon  the  weak  and  over- 
loaded system.  According  to  reliable  statistics, 
about  one-quarter  of  all  that  are  born  die  under 
five  years  of  age.  Of  course,  how  much  larger 
the  number  driven  from  the  stage  of  life  be- 
tween birth  and  the  adult  period  !  No  doubt, 
impure  air  and  various  other  circumstances  are 
partly  the  cause  ;  but  this  premature  destruc- 
tion might  yet  be  very  much  diminished  by  fit- 
ness, temperance,  and  regularity  in  diet. 


MANAGEMENT   OP   THE   SELFHOOD.  83 

Ah  !  could  parents  but  once  clearly  under- 
stand how  fearful  as  well  as  wonderful  is  this 
organism  of  muscles,  fibres,  nerves,  tubes,  and 
infinitesimal  ducts,  together  with  the  speeding 
currents,  oozing  juices,  and  dew-like  distilla- 
tions ;  and  how  they  twist  and  clog  and  mat  and 
mash  them  up  by  their  blind,  their  almost  insane, 
indulgence,  —  methinks  they  would  fall  on  their 
knees,  and  lift  hands  and  eyes  and  voices  to  the 
Author  of  life,  supplicating  pardon  for  the  mur- 
derous past,  and  wisdom  and  firmness  for  the 
future ;  and  thus  this  terrible  havoc  of  the  inno- 
cents would  be  abated. 

In  our  abundant  country,  people  of  the  most 
ordinary  means  might  take  a  lesson,  in  this  mat- 
ter of  eating,  from  the  nobility  of  England.  It 
is  said,  that  all  along  up  through  childhood  cer- 
tainly, and  somewhat  into  youth,  their  children 
are  not  permitted  those  luxuries  which  load  the 
daily  table  for  the  gratification  of  their  elders. 
By  such  judicious  restraints,  as  well  as  by  other 
circumstances,  this  class  of  people  is  insured 
that  degree  of  robust  health  for  which  it  is  so 
distinguished.  Indeed,  we  might- take  a  further 
lesson  from  even  regal  families.  Victoria,  it  is 
said,  exhibits  a  truly  queenly  wisdom  in  the 
education  of  the  royal  heirs.  No  doubt,  that, 


84  MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

in  her  family,  sound  dietetic  rules  are  observed 
as  well  as  other  important  principles  of  disci- 
pline. The  husband  and  father,  it  is  well  known, 
co-operates  with  the  most  conscientious  faith- 
fulness, and  lends  a  strong,  steady,  governing 
hand. 

It  may  be  stated,  in  addition,  that  the  children 
of  the  Russian  czars  are  altogether  unaccus- 
tomed to  harmful  luxuries.  The  dietetic  laws 
appertaining  to  them  are  absolute.  In  this 
manner  must  the  present  autocrat  have  been 
educated.  Thus  he  has  inherited,  and  con- 
tinues to  enjoy,  a  sound  body  to  go  with  that 
sound  intellect  and  great  heart  which  bestows 
freedom,  as  well  as  commands  obedience,  among 
the  sixty  millions  of  his  vast  empire.  If  every 
citizen  sovereign  in  our  country  would  train 
his  children  with  a  similar  inflexible  wisdom, 
what  a  robust,  healthy,  and  truly  majestic  po- 
tentate should  we  at  length  become,  seated  in 
million -fold  unity  on  our  august  continental 
throne  ! 

•  But  the  moral  effect  is  far  worse  than  the 
physical.  In»the  first  place,  the  temper  is  in- 
jured. The  overloaded  and  distended  system 
causes  frequent  uncomfortableness,  and  some- 
times severe  pain :  thus  the  naturally  mild  of 


MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  85 

disposition  become  sensitive  and  irritable,  and 
the  constitutionally  irascible  are  more  readily 
developed  into  as  fiery  imps  as  unwise  parents 
need  be  tortured  and  punished  by.  In  this  way 
is  started  the  selfishness  of  a  vindictive  spirit, 
which,  in  the  distant  future,  may  flame  forth  in 
deeds  of  cruelty  and  destruction.  A  base  net- 
tle is  cherished  which  pierces  everybody  that 
touches  it,  and  whose  prickles  will  be  blown 
by  occasional  gusts  of  passion  against  all  that 
come  near. 

But  this  eating  propensity  is,  in  itself,  a 
selfishness  still  lower  down  than  the  temper 
which  it  occasions  ;  and  it  is  the  broad  stair, 
next  to  the  steep  descent,  to  more  dangerous 
intemperance  and  to  viler  lust.  It  prepares  the 
young  to  be  more  excessively  dissipated  after 
leaving  the  restraints  and  the  oversight  of  home. 
Our  large  cities  are  thronged  with  young  men 
who  are  at  one  stage  or  another  of  sensualism. 
Some  are  sinking  down  to  the  lowest  dissolute- 
ness. Look  into  certain  places  on  an  evening, 
and  there  they  are,  indulging  the  depraved  ap- 
petite ;  not  only  eating  the  dainties  which  simple 
nature  does  not  crave,  but  drenching  and  scorch- 
ing nature  with  liquid  fire  ;  becoming,  it  may 
be,  inebriates  for  life.  Whence  did  they  come  ? 


86  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

Who  are  they?  Sons  of  the  farmers,  of  the 
mechanics,  of  the  traders,  of  the  lawyers,  of 
the  doctors,  of  the  legislators,  and  perhaps  of  the 
judges  and  governors,  of  the  land.  Ah  me ! 
—  must  the  humiliating  confession  be  made?  — 
some  of  them  are  quite  likely  to  be  the  sons  of 
the  ministers  of  our  churches.  In  many  cases, 
these  youths  have  been  led  to  the  brink  of  the 
gulfs  of  ruin  by  their  own  parents  at  home. 
They  have  been  trained  to  think  of  and  live  for 
the  palate.  A  city  merchant  informed  me,  that 
out  of  thirty  acquaintances  of  his  youth,  clerks 
in  neighboring  stores,  one-half  died  in  early  life 
of  dissipation,  and  some  of  them  were  con- 
nected with  the  most  respectable  families  of 
the  State. 

One  sabbath  forenoon,  while  speaking  in  a 
country  church  on  the  temptations  and  dangers 
of  city  life,  I  observed  a  young  man  sitting 
uneasily,  and  coloring  in  the  face.  He  absented 
himself  from  the  afternoon  service.  He  declared, 
as  I  was  told,  that  he  wouldn't  go  to  meeting 
to  hear  a  minister  talk  in  that  sort  of  way. 
He  was  then  on  a  visit  from  Boston  to  his 
relatives.  Within  four  weeks  from  that  time, 
his  corpse  was  brought  from  the  city,  and  cast, 
dust  to  dust,  near  the  church  where  he  had  so 


MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  87 

lately  sat,  angry  at  the  preacher's  truth.  He 
had  died  of  disease  brought  on  by  dissipation. 
Now,  had  these  ruined  youths  been  trained  to 
the  true  uses  of  food,  to  a  conscientious  tempe- 
rance, from  infancy  up,  how  different,  probably, 
would  have  been  their  fates  !  How  would  they 
have  blessed  the  restraining  prudence  of  their 
parents  through  prolonged  and  healthy  years ! 

Apparel  is  another  bodily  want ;  and  it  is  the 
occasion  of  an  unheavenly  selfishness  in  the  form 
of  vanity.  Vanity  says,  "  Don't  look  at  him  or 
her,  but  behold  me  ! "  An  early  disposition  is 
the  love  of  finery,  and  the  attention  it  attracts. 
The  child  hastens  to  exhibit  some  new  article  of 
attire  or  ornament.  There  may  be  a  quite  in- 
nocent pleasure  in  possessing  it,  and  a  wish  for 
sympathy ;  but,  withal,  there  is  likely  to  be  an 
unamiable  vanity.  A  little  girl,  some  three 
years  old,  wore  for  the  first  time,  in  church,  a 
dress  with  a  pocket.  She  whispered,  "  Mother, 
do  you  think  that  Mr. "  (naming  the  mini- 
ster) "  knows  that  I  have  a  pocket  in  my  dress  ?" 
There  was  here  an  incipient  vanity  which  might 
grow  to  be  monstrous.  That  child,  left  un- 
checked, coming  to  be  the  miss  of  sixteen,  might 
trip  and  mince  to  church,  with  her  fashions  and 
her  attractions  uppermost  in  her  miud. 


88  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

But  no  wonder  that  this  vice  should  so  bane- 
fully  blossom  out,  when  parents  themselves  so 
often  nurture  it  from  the  earliest.  To  gratify 
their  own  vanity,  how  they  bedeck  the  darling, 
and  even  overload  with  finery  !  Some  children 
seem  like  huge  insects  of  the  summer,  —  very 
aristocrats  of  the  gaudy  and  gauzy  tribes;  and, 
to  use  a  phrase  which  will  be  understood,  fit  to 
be  the  "  big-bugs "  of  the  naturalist's  cabinet. 
When  this  vice  first  shows  itself,  teach  the  true 
uses  of  apparel.  If  need  be,  take  off  and  put 
away  the  new,  and  replace  the  old,  till  the  de- 
sire for  display  shall  be  corrected. 

There  is,  however,  no  objection  to  the  use  of 
the  beautiful  in  the  attire  of  children  ;  but  there 
must  be  adaptation  to  the  age,  or  the  beautiful 
will  not  be  there,  or  at  least  its  charm  will  have 
fled.  How  admirable  is  Nature  in  her  simple 
flower-buds  !  She  reserves  her  large  and  far- 
seen  fashions  for  the  full,  expanded  bloom. 
Cannot  parents  apply  this  example,  divinely 
ordained,  to  the  living,  priceless  blossoms  of 
their  own  households? 

Next,  there  are  house,  furniture,  and  style 
of  living,  as  an  occasion,  not  only  of  vanity, 
but  of  pride.  It  is  by  no  means  intended  to 
disparage  well-gotten  wealth,  and  the  elegance 


MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  SELFHOOD.       89 

it  affords.  The  eye  was  formed  to  be  pleased. 
The  Almighty  designed  and  made  things  to 
please  it.  The  tasteful  arts  are  but  the  faint 
imitations  of  his  own  works.  It  is  only  the  bad 
spirit  which  accompanies  possessions  and  privi- 
leges that  is  to  be  censured  and  deprecated. 

At  a  school  recess,  a  little  bit  of  pretension 
puffs  itself  up,  and  exclaims,  "  Your  father  isn't 
as  rich  as  my  father  is  ;  you  don't  live  in  so 
nice  a  house  as  I  do."  Who  instilled  such  mise- 
rable folly  into  the  heart  of  a  child,  if  not  the 
parents  or  other  inmates  of  home?  Certain 
young  ladies  will  not  notice  certain  other  ones 
in  the  street,  though  they  are  school  compa- 
nions, belong  to  the  same  class  in  recitation, 
and  are  of  equally  proper  manners,  and  perhaps 
of  more  refined  character,  because,  forsooth, 
the  fathers  of  these  latter  live  in  inferior  style, 
and  move  in  a  different  circle.  Now,  millions 
of  wealth,  the  loftiest  ancestry,  and  the  most 
splendid  fashion,  cannot  make  such  souls  lovely 
or  beloved,  or  truly  happy.  If  death  snatch 
their  spirits  from  the  corrupt  but  cherished 
flesh,  can  they  be  received  among  those  heaven- 
ly ones  who  have  been  exalted  in  proportion  to 
their  humbleness,  and  are  thought  of  and  loved 
by  others  in  proportion  as  they  have  forgotten 


90  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

themselves  ?  0  cruel,  cruel  parents,  with  your 
own  trusted  breath  to  puff  up  the  tender,  elastic 
soul  into  such  swollen  and  repulsive  deformity 
as  pride  ! 

Very  many  of  the  "  first  people,"  as  they  are 
called,  possess  their  privileges,  it  is  hoped,  with- 
out pride.  Indeed,  there  are  those  whose  lack 
of  pretension,  whose  very  humility,  might  give 
lessons  to  all  ranks  beneath  them.  Here  is 
an  admirable  example  with  which  to  close  this 
topic.  A  gentleman  of  large  inherited  wealth, 
and  of  the  best  education  and  culture  the 
country  could  afford,  had  two  daughters  at  a 
school,  conducted,  not  by  an  ambitious  and 
showy,  but  by  a  most  thoroughly  educated 
and  judicious  teacher.  The  daughter  of  another 
gentleman,  of  limited  means  and  quite  economi- 
cal living,  —  a  bank  or  insurance  clerk,  perhaps, 
—  was  also  an  attendant ;  but  she  was  one  of 
the  best  scholars  in  her  class,  of  refined  man- 
ners and  amiable  disposition.  The  two  young 
ladies,  on  acquaintance  with  this  schoolmate, 
seemed  particularly  pleased  with  her,  and  made 
her  a  special  associate  at  recesses.  The  circum- 
stance excited  attention  and  surprise.  Those 
of  similar  position  and  pretensions  with  the 
young  ladies  ventured  to  inquire  and  remon- 


MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  91 

struto  about  the  matter.  "  Why  are  you  so 
intimate  with  this  person?"  said  they.  "Why 
do  you  so  lower  yourselves  ?  Her  father's  posi- 
tion in  life  is  entirely  different  from  that  of 
yours,  and  his  daughter  can  never  move  in  the 
circle  that  you  will."  The  reply  was  modestly 
made  :  "  She  is  certainly  equal  to  any  one  of 
the  school  in  talent  and  character ;  and  we  know 
no  reason  why  we  should  not  associate  and  be 
intimate  with  her,  if  we  like  her,  as  we  happen 
to  do."  At  length,  the  father  of  these  young 
ladies  came  to  the  teacher,  and  made  especial 
inquiries  concerning  the  character  of  this  favor- 
ite companion.  Perhaps  it  had  been  hinted  to 
him  by  meddlers,  that  his  daughters  were  form- 
ing low  associations.  He,  however,  received  the 
most  satisfactory  assurances  from  the  teacher : 
so  the  intimacy  continued  uninterrupted.  When 
the  long  summer  vacation  arrived,  this  noble- 
souled  father,  this  thorough  Christian  gentle- 
man, invited  his  daughters'  friend  to  spend  the 
leisure  weeks  at  his  magnificent  country  seat, 
and  gave  her  the  opportunity  of  the  best  privi- 
leges of  his  own  social  life.  He  made  no  such 
invitation  to  those  who  thought  it  a  degradation 
to  be  intimate  with  the  excellent  person  whose 
parentage  was  altogether  respectable,  but  whose 


92  MANAGEMENT    OF    THE   SELFHOOD. 

rank  the  world  had  put  a  few  notches  lower,  for 
no  other  reason  than  the  lack  of  money  and  the 
position  it  affords. 

Education  itself,  that  precious  privilege,  is 
made  the  occasion  of  developing  the  most  in- 
tense selfishness.  The  prevalent  stimulus  to 
study  is  selfish  emulation :  higher  place  in  the 
class,  the  medal  or  the  book-prize,  or  other  out- 
ward honors  of  scholarship,  become  the  aim. 
Thus  the  true  end  of  education  is  forgotten. 
No  wonder  that  forceful,  fierce  ambition  should 
so  often  manifest  itself  in  after-life,  or  that  po- 
litical aspiration  and  demagogism  should  possess 
many  an  otherwise  noble  soul  with  a  very  mad- 
ness. If  love,  self-forgetfulness,  and  humility 
make  heaven,  how  can  this  fiery  emulation  and 
its  bitter  heart-burnings,  and  such  worldly  tower- 
ing-up,  prepare  for  the  sublime  lowliness  of 
heaven  ? 

Here  the  remark  may  come  in,  that  parents 
often  make  the  acquirements  of  their  children 
the  occasion  for  displaying  their  own  fond  con- 
ceit, and,  in  doing  so,  set  a  harmful  example  to 
the  child.  You  will  scarcely  have  taken  your 
seat  in  some  houses,  and  have  begun  to  speak  of 
the  children,  before  little  Admirable  must  run 
and  get  his  book,  and  show  the  gentleman  how 


MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  93 

well  he  can  read.  Thus  the  visitor  is  compelled 
to  witness  the  exploits  of  a  poor  little  fellow  at 
stammering  and  miscalling  words ;  and,  withal, 
his  remarkable  dexterity  at  showing  how  mis- 
taken his  doting  parent  is. 

After  this  early  development  of  self,  in  con- 
nection with  the  goods  of  life,  the  evil  cannot 
but  put  itself  forth  to  the  utmost  in  the  acqui- 
sition of  them.  As  these  things  and  all  other 
property  are  represented  by  money,  the  grasp- 
ing soul  is  concentrated  upon  this.  Money  in 
due  degree,  for  good  ends  and  by  just  means, 
is,  of  course,  a  proper  object  of  pursuit ;  but 
how  has  the  true  idea  of  it  been  perverted  ! 
Good  and  use  are  at  length  overlooked,  and  a 
new  passion,  a  new  vice,  has  taken  possession, 
-  the  love  of  money,  as  money ;  and  how  early 
it  appears !  The  child  hardly  old  enough  to 
articulate  gloats  over  his  bits  of  coin.  Even 
the  best  affections  are  transmuted  into  this 
money-passion.  A  boy  spontaneously  performs 
a -trivial  service  (perhaps  picks  up  your  dropped 
handkerchief,  and  restores  it),  and  you  as  sponta- 
neously offer  him  a  piece  of  change.  How  he 
snatches  it,  and  scuds  away  to  his  parents  !  and 
how  in  spirit  they  snatch  it  too,  in  sympathy 
with  his  good  fortune  ! 


94      MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  SELFHOOD. 

The  true  reward  for  a  favor  is,  first,  the  sweet, 
loving  impulse  to  do  it,  and  then  the  agreeable 
consciousness  of  having  done  some  little  good. 
Every  opportunity  to  render  service  to  another 
is  a  God-send  to  the  little  heart.  It  opens  that 
heart,  and  fits  it  for  a  larger  sphere  of  good- 
doing  at  a  maturer  age.  If  a  reward  for  such 
spontaneous  favors  be  received,  pure  generosity 
is  stifled,  and  the  sordid  motive  of  doing  good 
for  pay  takes  its  place. 

I  have,  in  my  own  personal  experience,  a 
most  charming  and  impressive  illustration  of  an 
opposite  character,  which  I  cannot  forbear  to 
bring  in  here  from  a  volume  where  it  is  in 
print. 

"  Early  one  summer  morning,  I  was  travelling 
in  a  chaise  through  this  mountain-town.*  I  had 
arrived  near  the  outskirts,  when  I  fancied  that 
I  heard  a  singular  noise ;  but  did  not  then  stop 
or  look  out  to  see  what  it  might  be,  as  I  was  in 
particular  haste  to  reach  my  destination.  I  drove 
rapidly  on.  But  soon  the  noise  again  startled 
my  ear,  and  seemingly  the  shrill  scream  of  a 
human  being.  Still  driving  on,  I  leaned  out  of 
the  vehicle  to  learn  whence  came  the  piercing 

*  Dublin,  N.H.,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Monadnock. 


MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  95 

sound.  I  then  discovered  a  boy  pursuing  me  at 
the  top  of  his  speed,  and  crying  after  me  to  stop ; 
which  I  now  did.  He  came  up  nearly  ex- 
hausted by  half  a  mile's  run,  with  his  bosom  all 
open,  and  his  face  all  reddened  with  the  heat, 
and  reeking  with  perspiration ;  arid  he  panting- 
ly  exclaimed,  '  You  are  losing  your  trunk,  sir  ! ' 
At  this  information,  I  leaped  out ;  and  surely  my 
trunk  was  in  a  deplorable  condition.  It  had 
been  fastened  beneath  the  axle-tree.  But  one 
of  the  straps  had  got  broken,  and  it  was  dan- 
gling by  the  other,  now  almost  wrested  off, 
having  been  knocked  against  the  stones,  and 
dragged  through  dust  and  mud,  till  it  was  a 
sorry  sight.  I  requested  my  benevolent  in- 
former to  stand  at  the  horse's  head  till  I  should 
put  it  into  safety.  Of  course,  such  a  boy,  or  any 
boy,  could  not  but  do  this  under  such  circum- 
stances. When  ready  to  start  again,  I  held  out, 
in  spontaneous  gratitude,  a  piece  of  money,  of 
more  tempting  value  than  our  smallest  silver 
coin ;  and,  lo !  the  little  fellow  drew  back  and 
straightened  up,  and  with  a  keener  eye,  and  al- 
most an  offended  tone,  exclaimed,  'Do  you  think 
I  would  take  pay  for  that  ? '  I  could  not  prevail 
on  him  to  receive  the  least  compensation.  I 
went  on  my  journey,  rejoicing  in  the  accident, 


96  MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

although  it  was  to  cost  me  the  repairing  of  my 
torn  and  bruised  trunk.  It  had  made  known  to 
me  one  magnanimous  boy.  For  how  many  much 
slighter  favors  had  I  received  from  the  young, 
who  capered  away,  insensible  to  the  pleasure  of 
doing  a  kindness,  in  the  satisfaction  of  '  taking 
pay  for  that ' !  '  Ay/  thought  I,  '  this  boy  is  an 
honor  to  the  common  school ;  he  is  a  Christian 
learner  in  my  friend  the  minister's  Sunday 
school;  he  is  a  diligent  reader  of  the  juvenile 
library.  Blessed  pupil  of  a  blessed  pastor ! 
thy  getting  is  the  true  and  the  best  one,  —  that 
of  understanding:  to  thee,  wisdom  is  "the  prin- 
cipal thing."  '  How  many,  many  times  since 
have  I  thought  of  that  boy,  and  wished  that  I 
knew  his  name,  and  could  trace  his  onward 
course  !  How  many  times,  in  my  wanderings 
and  stoppings  within  sight,  even  within  the 
most  distant  glimpses  of  the  peaked  crown  of 
that  proud  old  hill-king,  have  I  thought  of  that 
grand,  that  royal-spirited  boy  !  That  mountain, 
by  natural  association,  is  to  me  a  most  fit  monu- 
ment to  one  magnanimity  towering  above  many 
meannesses.  Ye  boys,  and  indeed  ye  men,  of 
our  country,  to  whom  the  moral  of  my  story 
may  apply,  I  pray  you,  when  you  shall  perform 
a  little  favor  spontaneously,  or  even  by  request, 


MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  97 

let  your  souls  stand  up  in  true  nobility,  in 
the  heavenward  grandeur  of  disinterestedness, 
and  say  in  the  spirit,  'Do  you  think  I  would 
take  pay  for  that  ?  '  »  * 

The  manifestations  of  self,  through  cunning, 
duplicity,  and  positive  acts  of  deception,  easily 
come  along  after  meanness.  For  instance,  a  boy 
swaps  knives  or  pencils  with  another  lad,  and 
then  boasts,  with  a  sparkling  eye  and  a  chuck- 
ling voice,  that  he  has  got  the  best  end  of  the 
bargain  !  His  parents,  it  may  be,  brighten  and 
chuckle  too  at  the  early  shrewdness  and  promis- 
ing thrift ;  and  thus  encourage  and  spur  him  on. 
Now,  this  getting  of  the  best  end  of  the  bar- 
gain knowingly,  and  through  the  unsuspecting 
ignorance  of  the  other  party,  is  a  violation  of 
the  golden  rule,  "  to  do  as  we  would  be  done 
by."  It  is  worse :  it  is  the  breaking  of  the  com- 
mandment, "Thou  shalt  not  steal;"  for  it  is 
taking  by  stealth  that  for  which  there  is  given 
no  equivalent.  It  is  absolute  theft  in  the  eye 


*  The  people  of  the  town,  on  seeing  the  incident  in  a  publica- 
tion, were  curious  to  know  who  the  young  hero  might  be.  After 
several  years,  his  name  was  discovered.  He  proved  to  be  a  poor  boy 
who  "lived  out"  at  a  farmer's  to  work  for  his  living.  His  ac- 
quaintances at  once  exclaimed,  "  Well,  it  is  just  like  him  !  "  Brief, 
simple,  but  most  expressive  eulogium,  —  "It  is  just  like  him!  " 
7 


98  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

of  that  Infinite  Justice  which  gave  the  law  on 
Sinai.  The  "  best  end  of  the  bargain  "  is  the 
worst  end  of  it.  Such  a  beginning  of  business 
may  lead,  at  length,  either  to  some  great  theft  or 
enormous  forgery,  and  to  the  State  Prison.  It 
may  prepare  the  way  for  grand  peculations  from 
government,  or  for  magnificent  embezzlements 
from  bank  and  railroad  corporations,  and  all  their 
infamous  glory. 

Many  forms  of  injustice  prevail  in  the  busi- 
ness world,  of  which  human  law  takes  no  cog- 
nizance, but  which  are  nevertheless  violations 
of  the  divine  law.  The  young,  almost  univer- 
sally, are  educated  into  this  injustice.  Children 
are  trained  by  the  example  of  parents,  and 
indeed  by  prevalent  practice,  to  a  cool,  keen 
selfishness,  and  habitual  unfairness  in  trade,  in 
the  following  way :  Articles  on  sale  are  of  a  cer- 
tain specific  value  when  viewed  in  the  relation 
of  cost  and  of  other  values,  and  they  ought  to 
command  a  certain  price  ;  but  how  many  are 
never  willing  to  give  a  just  price  !  They  want 
the  thing  for  a  little  less.  Suppose  a  retail 
store.  "  Come,  now :  won't  you  fall  a  little  ? 
You  can  afford  to  take  a  cent  less,  —  only  a 
cent."  Sometimes  even  the  half-cent  is  higgled 
for.  Now,  this  half-cent  is  no  more  for  the  pur- 


MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  99 

chaser  to  give  than  it  is  for  the  seller  to  lose ; 
and,  in  the  long-run,  it  is  the  half-cents,  more  or 
less,  on  yards  and  pounds  of  goods,  which  make 
up  much  of  the  trader's  gains  or  losses.  Thus 
such  people  clip  off,  and  press  down  and  screw 
harder  and  harder,  until  they  often  drive  the 
dealer  himself  to  questionable  expedients,  in 
order  to  make  his  absolutely  necessary  profits. 
By  such  a  spirit  and  example,  children  are  edu- 
cated not  only  to  a  littleness  which  is  disgusting, 
but  to  a  wrong  which  is  abhorrent. 

Inculcate  on  the  young,  by  precept  and  prac- 
tice, the  righteous  rule  of  business,  —  "to  live, 
and  let  live  ; "  or  rather  the  great  commandment 
of  justice,  —  "  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men 
should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them." 
One  may  claim  of  a  seller  a  good  article  ;  but, 
then,  let  him  claim,  in  turn,  its  full  value,  and 
get  it — of  your  son  or  daughter.  "  Ah  !"  re- 
plies selfishness,  in  the  guise  of  suspicion  and 
caution,  "  in  this  way  the  buyer  will  lay  himself 
open  to  be  continually  cheated  and  wronged." 
By  no  means.  Justice,  candor,  and  kindness, 
on  his  part,  will  be  his  best  protection.  Let  a 
character  for  uprightness  and  liberality  be  once 
established  with  a  dealer,  and,  in  nine  cases  out 
of  ten,  he  would  put  himself  to  inconvenience, 


100  MANAGEMENT   OF  THE  SELFHOOD. 

or  even  to  loss,  sooner  than  occasion  incon- 
venience and  loss  to  such  a  customer.  He 
would  abhor  —  at  least,  in  good  nature,  he  would 
disdain  —  to  commit  on  him  a  fraud.  Meanness 
is  generally  its  own  punishment.  It  provokes 
retaliation,  and,  somehow,  gets  "  come  up  with  " 
sooner  or  later. 

A  somewhat  ludicrous  anecdote  will  illustrate 
this  point.  A  customer  at  a  country  store,  hav- 
ing supplied  his  wants,  inquired,  as  it  was  near 
the  new  year,  for  the  next  almanac.  The 
trader  handed  him  the  indispensable  work.  The 
price  was  asked.  "  Six  cents,"  was  the  reply. 
11  Oh !  it  is  too  much,"  the  customer  rejoined : 
"I  can't  give  that."  — "Very  well,"  said  the 
trader ;  and,  stooping  clown,  he  brought  from 
some  by-place  another  copy,  with  the  observa- 
tion, "  Here  is  an  almanac  you  may  have  for  five 
cents."  The  customer,  much  pleased,  paid  the 
money,  and  took  the  article.  In  a  day  or  two 
he  returned  to  the  store,  with  his  purchase  in 
hand,  and,  much  excited,  exclaimed,  "  Sir,  you 
cheated  me  in  this  almanac.  Why,  there  are 
only  ten  months  in  it :  the  other  two  are  torn 
out !  "  —  "I  knew  that,"  replied  the  trader,  very 
quietly,  yet  significantly  ;  "  but  you  got  all  you 
paid  for." 


MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  101 

An  equally  instructive  incident  comes  from 
another  experience :  — 

"  I  had  been  accustomed,"  said  a  gentleman, 
"  to  purchase  my  grocery  necessaries  of  a  parti- 
cular trader  in  our  village.  One  of  my  neigh- 
bors, on  a  time,  hearing  me  mention  the  place  of 
supply,  exclaimed,  "  Oh  !  don't  go  there :  you 
will  certainly  get  cheated;  for  I  don't  succeed 
well  at  all  with  the  man."  I  could  not  but  think 
in  my  own  mind,  that  the  grocer  also,  on  his 
part,  failed  to  succeed  well  with  my  neighbor ; 
for  my  experience  had  been  of  quite  a  different 
kind.  On  one  occasion,  at  the  close  of  the  year, 
we  had  a  settlement  of  accounts,  and  squared 
up,  as  had  been  our  custom.  The  trader  then 
opened  a  new  page,  at  the  head  of  which  he  put 
my  name  ;  but  he  wrote  also  what  he  had  not 
written  before,  —  Hon.  before  it.  '  What  do 
you  mean  by  that?  '  said  I.  '  I  have  never  held 
any  office  which  gives  me  a  claim  to  such  a 
title.'  — '  No  matter,'  said  the  trader  :  '  you  are 
honorable ;  and  I  have  put  it  down  on  this 
account -book,  and  here  it  shall  stay.";  This 
gentleman's  experience  is  suggestive  to  the 
parental  educator.  For  myself,  I  should  cer- 
tainly prefer  that  a  son  should  gain  the  reputa- 
tion, and  win  the  unsolicited,  unthought-of  title, 


102  MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

honorable,  on  account  of  his  perfectly  just  deal- 
ing with  his  fellow-men,  than  to  climb  like  a 
reptile,  or  rush  like  a  vulture,  to  the  highest 
office  of  a  State,  or  even  to  the  chief  magistracy 
of  the  nation. 

Early  home -circumstances,  considered  alto- 
gether trifling,  are  the  tiny  roots  of  a  monstrous 
growth  of  immoralities  in  the  future  business- 
life.  There  are  decepfions,  trickish  annoyances, 
and  various  unrebuked,  at  least  unamended 
wrongs,  between  children  themselves.  There 
are  falsehoods  and  artifices  exercised  toward 
parents.  These,  if  discovered,  are  too  lightly 
passed  over.  They  are  not  brought  into  solemn 
judgment  before  the  religion  of  Christ  and  the 
will  of  God.  But  worse  :  what  evasions  and 
subterfuges,  prevarications  and  deceits,  in  social 
life,  are  often  practised  by  parents  themselves 
in  the  presence  of  their  children  !  Then  what 
stratagem  and  double-dealing  to  manage  the 
children  on  trying  occasions  !  How  often  are 
positive  refusals  not  adhered  to,  but  are  melted 
away  by  pertinacious  teasing !  Again  :  what 
threats  which  are  never  executed  !  what  pro- 
mises which  are  never  performed !  Alas  !  no 
wonder  that  human  nature  is  so  often,  so  early, 


MANAGEMENT    OF    THE   SELFHOOD.  103 

and  so  effectually  initiated  into  a  life  of  heart- 
lessness,  lying,  dishonesty,  and  dishonor. 

I  have  thus  exhibited  some  of  the  occasions 
and  circumstances  through  which  children  de- 
velop dispositions  and  form  habits  of  selfishness  ; 
and,  in  connection,  have  given  a  few  impressive 
contrasts.  I  would  now  present  some  examples 
of  an  opposite  kind  of  training.  First,  then,  as 
you  believe  in  Christianity  and  in  the  heaven  it 
reveals,  teach  a  child,  as  early  as  possible,  to 
forget  himself;  to  do,  and  indeed  to  live,  for 
others.  As  soon  as  he  shall  be  able,  let  him 
pass  with  his  little  hand  some  needed  article  to 
another,  and  he  shall  have  begun  a  life  of  bene- 
ficent industry.  As  soon  as  he  can  creep,  let 
him  go  errands  on  all  fours,  —  for  instance,  to 
carry  some  manageable  thing,  perhaps  the  news- 
paper, pinned  to  his  clothing,  to  a  person  across 
the  room,  wanting  it ;  and  he  shall  have  possibly 
begun  his  journey  across  the  continent,  to  carry 
civilization  into  some  new  territory;  or,  as  a 
missionary,  to  set  up  the  cross  of  Christianity 
among  the  far  Heathen,  and  to  give  himself  up 
a  living  sacrifice  at  its  foot. 

Train  a  child  to  work,  not  by  cold  and  stern 
compulsion  or  merely  by  the  inducements  of 
activity,  but  for  the  sake  of  being  of  service, 


104  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFFIOOD. 

of  doing  some  little  good.  If  there  are  no  ser- 
vants in  a  family,  there  are  numberless  things 
in  which  boys  and  girls  can  be  useful.  Beauti- 
ful are  their  dispositions,  blessed  their  lives,  if 
they  shall  be  affectionately  helpful.  There  are 
thousands  of  wives  and  mothers,  broken  down 
by  hard  work  and  the  various  burdens  of  life : 
not  only  daughters,  but  sons  also,  should  aid  in 
making  those  burdens  lighter.  In  the  absence 
of  daughters,  things  ordinarily  done  by  them 
could  be,  and  ought  to  be,  done  by  sons.  It  is 
a  mere  notion,  that  this  and  that  is  girls'  work ; 
and  that,  therefore,  it  is  beneath  boy  dignity  to 
touch  it.  Whatever  is  of  use  is  honorable ; 
especially  if,  through  the  performance,  kind 
affections  flow  out.  It  adds  to  the  dignity 
rather  than  detracts  from  it.  He  who,  whether 
boy  or  man,  shall  honor  his  father  and  mother 
by  doing  them  kind  service,  most  particularly 
honors  himself. 

Again:  train  up  a  child  to  such  a  pursuit  as 
will  add  to  human  enjoyment  beyond  the  per- 
son's own  self.  As  the  chief  motive  to  such  a 
pursuit,  let  not  self-interest,  but  usefulness  to 
others,  be  presented.  "When  an  apprenticeship, 
or  preparation  for  business-life,  is  entered  on  by 
a  youth,  the  idea  should  be  strongly  inculcated, 


MANAGEMENT   OF    THE   SELFHOOD.  105 

and  thoroughly  wrought  into  the  soul,  that  the 
avocation  is  designed  by  an  all-embracing  Provi- 
dence, not  so  much  to  enrich  and  elevate  him- 
self, as  it  is  that  he  may  be  of  use  to  his  brethren 
of  the  human  race,  equally  God's  children  with 
himself.  If  one  is  industrious  and  prudent,  self 
will  be  sufficiently  taken  care  of  at  any  rate. 
The  all-loving  Father's  object  is  to  develop, 
through  certain  uses,  that  love  for  our  fellow- 
beings  which  not  only  makes  the  truest  felicity, 
but  which  turns  all  the  energies  of  the  man, 
and  all  his  external  and  internal  possessions,  to 
the  best  possible  account.  To  forget  self,  and 
to  love  others,  is  to  be  like  Divine  Perfection : 
not  only  so,  but  to  work  is  to  be  like  the  Divine. 
The  Deity  is  the  Infinite  Worker.  If  he  is  the 
Almighty  Master  of  the  universe,  he  is  also 
the  Universal  Servant :  he  ministers  to  the  mi- 
nutest wants  of  all.  Indeed,  it  is  only  through 
the  multitudinous,  the  innumerable  workings  of 
his  power,  that  his  love  is  made  known.  So  far 
as  a  human  being  is  idle  and  useless,  so  far  has 
he  removed  himself  from  the  image  and  like- 
ness in  which  he  was  made,  and  from  the  felici- 
ties that  belong  to  his  nature. 

The  young  man  who  does  nothing  but  saunter 
about  town,  and  while  awav  his  time  in  trivial 


106  MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

conversation  or  on  superficial  literature  ;  or  the 
young  woman  who  takes  her  daily  promenade  for 
mere  show,  who  makes  her  calls  for  cold  eti- 
quette or  frivolous  gossip,  and  wastes  the  rest  of 
her  time  on  the  last  new  novel  and  in  the  cur- 
rent amusements,  —  is  a  sort  of  moral  monster. 
The  very  God  who  made  them  is  every  moment 
teaching  them  a  lesson  of  industry ;  for  he  tends 
their  very  heart-beatings  by  his  own  active  and 
ever-present  energies.  If  he  stop  his  work  in 
their  idle  bodies,  they  die. 

Again :  I  Vould  train  up  the  young  with  such 
dispositions  to  usefulness,  that  the  desire  for  it 
should  never  cease  while  life  and  energy  con- 
tinue. I  honor  the  old  merchant  who  still  sticks 
to  his  business,  and  makes  his  accumulations  to 
the  very  last,  if  he  only  does  it,  not  for  the 
love  of  money,  but  for  the  adding  of  means  to 
means  that  he  may  do  good,  and  communicate 
abroad. 

The  very  idiot  who  has  a  heart  to  feel  for 
human  want  and  suffering,  and  has  willing  hands 
to  relieve  according  to  his  ability,  is  a  thousand- 
fold more  to  be  respected  than  the  man  who 
lives  for  nothing  but  to  reach  out  after  money ; 
who  grasps  all  he  in  any  way  can,  and  then 
holds  it  all  close  to  himself;  thinking  of  it  as 


MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  107 

a  possession  of  his  own,  and  not  as  a  means  of 
usefulness  to  others. 

Many  years  ago,  I  resided  in  a  most  excellent 
family,  a  member  of  which  was  a  weak-minded 
boy,  eight  or  ten  years  of  age.  He  could  hardly 
put  together  words  enough  to  make  a  single  full 
sentence,  he  was  so  defective  in  ideas,  or  at  least 
in  speech.  Indeed,  he  could  not  pronounce  his 
own  name  ;  which  was  Francis.  So  he  called 
himself  by  the  more  convenient  monosyllable, 
"  Boy."  But  he  had  a  most  gentle  nature ;  a 
large  and  abounding  heart,  flowing  out  most 
sweetly  to  all  around  him.  Many  years  sped 
away,  and  I  hardly  knew  how  they  sped  with 
the  tenderly  remembered  Francis.  At  length, 
meeting  a  relative,  I  made  inquiry  after  him. 
The  reply  was,  that  he  had  for  a  long  time  been 
at  board  in  an  excellent  home  ;  that,  though  a 
man  in  stature  and  twenty-six  years  of  age,  he 
could  read  no  better  and  could  speak  no  better 
than  when  I  knew  him  as  a  child.  Indeed,  he 
could  not  yet  utter  his  own  name,  but  still,  in  re- 
ferring to  himself,  said  "  Boy."  "  But,"  continued 
my  informant,  "  he  is,  though  an  idiot,  good;  he 
is  kind ;  he  is  very  loving.  It  is  a  great  pleasure 
to  him  to  be  taken  on  occasional  visits  to  the 
alms-house  of  the  town  ;  and  there  he  makes 


108  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

such  presents  to  the  poor  inmates  as  suits  his 
benevolent  fancy." 

The  lady  mentioned  an  incident  of  recent 
occurrence,  which  to  me  was  peculiarly  touch- 
ing ;  and  for  the  sake  of  which,  as  a  special 
illustration,  I  have  now  brought  this  person  to 
notice.  "  In  the  course  of  last  winter,"  said  she, 
"  an  old  man,  who  lived  alone  with  his  wife  in 
the  neighborhood,  died.  Soon  after  the  burial, 
some  women,  in  the  presence  of  Francis,  were 
conversing  on  the  subject  of  the  old  man's  de- 
parture, and  the  lonely  situation  of  the  widow. 
Among  other  things,  they  wondered  who  now 
would  cut  and  split  and  carry  in  the  poor  wo- 
man's wood.  Immediately  Francis  was  heard 
to  exclaim,  '  Boy  knows.'  His  words,  however, 
excited  at  the  time  no  attention.  At  length,  it 
was  remarked  by  the  neighbors,  that  Francis 
every  day,  regularly,  made  a  visit  to  the  widow's. 
The  people  began  to  be  curious,  so  invariable, 
and  in  all  weathers,  was  his  going  to  the  house. 
Inquiry  was  made  ;  and  it  was  found  that  he 
went  to  cut  and  split  and  carry  in  the  widow's 
wood."  Thus,  while  these  neighbors  were  won- 
dering who  would  do  it,  and  while  their  own  sons 
should  have  thought  to  do  it,  —  indeed,  should 
have  been  so  trained  by  them  as  to  have  rejoiced 


MANAGEMENT    OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  109 

to  do  it,  —  the  blessed  charity  was  performed 
by  Francis,  the  idiot. 

When  the  Framer  of  bodies  and  the  Father 
of  spirits  shall  deliver  that  beautiful  soul  from 
its  clayey  bondage,  how  will  it  soar  up  and  up 
to  the  region  of  celestial  affection,  unspeakably 
above  those  who  know,  but  who,  with  their  com- 
petent strength,  do  not ;  who  possess,  but  who 
of  their  overflowing  abundance  give  not ! 

If  the  young  shall  be  rightly  trained  in  the 
home,  and  especially  if  this  training  is  second- 
ed by  the  Sunday  school,  they  shall  begin  even 
in  childhood  to  do,  according  to  a  child's  measure 
and  means,  what  they  shall  perform  in  their 
opulent  age  with  *  wide-sweeping  and  a  most 
bountifully  dropping  hand.  The  trifling  contri- 
butions of  children,  a  single  cent  or  a  half-dime, 
on  each  occasion,  will,  if  heart  and  wealth  shall 
grow  together,  become  in  the  distant  future 
the  hundred -dollar  donation,  or  the  thousand- 
dollar  bestowment  in  some  grand  philanthropy  ; 
or,  it  may  be,  the  hundred-thousand-dollar  legacy 
to  some  noble  institution  ;  and  this  not  for  show, 
not  for  the  world's  praise,  but  from  that  humble, 
hearty  love  of  doing  good  which  is  its  own 
blessing  and  richest  reward,  whether  the  world 
knows  and  praises  it  or  not. 


110  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

Again :  it  is  in  the  home,  and  under  true 
Christian  nurture,  that  the  missionaries  of  the 
cross  to  Heathen  lands  are  best  prepared.  Sup- 
pose a  child  trained  to  read  God's  word,  to  learn 
concerning  his  heavenly  Father  therefrom,  and 
the  beautiful  happy  home  of  many  mansions 
prepared  in  heaven  for  his  earthly  children. 
Let  him  be  opportunely  informed  that  millions  of 
human  beings  in  other  parts  of  the  world  are 
without  the  knowledge  of  this  dear,  loving 
Father,  and  have  no  idea  of  this  pure  and 
blessed  home,  —  are  utterly  ignorant  of  that 
Saviour  Son  who  came  into  the  world  to  deliver 
from  ignorance  and  sin  all  who  might  hear  of 
and  follow  him  :  that  chil*  might  be  so  im- 
pressed as  to  melt  with  pity  toward  those 
benighted  worshippers  of  stone  and  wood,  who 
are  so  utterly  without  the  true  God  in  the 
world.  With  such  appliances  as  a  noble  Chris- 
tian mother  could  make  to  the  little  heart,  how 
might  he  be  formed  to  be  another  Judson,  from 
the  earliest  dew  upon  his  life's  bloom,  and  at 
length  bear  fruits  for  the  feeding  of  multitudes 
in  distant  lands ! 

I  knew  of  such  a  mother.  The  following 
circumstances  occurred  in  one  of  the  interior 
citfes  of  Massachusetts,  where  I  once,  for  a 


MANAGEMENT   OP   THE  SELFHOOD.  Ill 

short  time,  resided.  The  example  will  plead  for 
a  true  Christian  education  far  better  than  any 
theories  or  the  most  eloquent  setting  of  them 
forth.  Two  little  boys  had  been  told  by  their 
religiously  faithful  mother  of  the  destitution  of 
the  Heathen  as  to  Christian  privileges ;  espe- 
cially of  their  having  had  no  Bible,  —  that  book 
which  the  children  loved  so  well  to  read,  and 
from  which  they  were  so  constantly  and  inte- 
restedly taught  concerning  the  heavenly  Father, 
and  that  Jesus  who  took  little  children  in  his 
arms  and  blessed  them.  So  it  came  into  their 
compassionate  hearts  to  give  such  little  moneys 
as  they  might  occasionally  obtain  to  the  Bible 
Society,  of  which  their  mother  informed  them  ; 
thus  doing  some  little  part  in  sending  the  good 
book  to  the  Heathen.  Of  course,  they  could 
hardly  comprehend  the  full  scope  and  meaning 
of  such  an  enterprise  ;  but  they  had  knowledge 
sufficient  to  light  the  way  to  their  continually 
growing  hearts.  At  length,  there  was  esta- 
blished in  that  city  an  Orphan  Asylum,  where 
children  who  were  without  parents,  or  who, 
through  intemperate  fathers,  were  perhaps  worse 
off,  might  have  a  comfortable  home  for  a  time. 
Somehow,  the  little  boys'  sympathies  became 
deeply  interested  in  this  institution.  Perhaps 


112  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD. 

it  was  because  they  could  see  with  their  own 
pitying  eyes  the  wretched  sufferers  in  the 
street  who  needed  just  such  a  refuge.  So,  with 
their  mother's  consent,  the  bits  of  money  which 
they  had  been  accustomed  to  drop,  as  they  could 
get  them,  into  the  aperture  of  their  tight  box 
for  the  Bible  cause,  were  now  devoted  to  the 
use  of  the  Orphan  Asylum. 

But  at  length  the  Lord  wanted  these  chil- 
dren, and  took  them  to  himself.  They  were,  I 
think,  smitten  with  some  epidemic,  and  died 
within  two  weeks  of  each  other,  respectively, 
at  five  and  three  years  of  age.  Their  own  spe- 
cial contribution-box  was  then  opened,  and  the 
sum  of  two  dollars  found,  which  had  fallen  from 
their  little  hands,  and  been  devoted  to  the  Or- 
phans' Home.  Beautiful,  inviting,  blessed  exam- 
ples of  parental  training  to  benevolence  and 
philanthropy  !  Oh,  could  the  millions  of  chil- 
dren in  our  plentiful  and  privileged  country  be 
so  educated,  how  would  a  thousand,  where 
there  is  now  one,  go  forth  to  civilize,  to  Chris- 
tianize, the  Heathen  world  !  —  and  how  would 
hundreds  of  thousands,  who  at  the  same  time 
accumulate  means  by  prosperous  industry,  shed 
their  moneys  like  sunshine  and  shower-drops  to 


MANAGEMENT   OF   THE   SELFHOOD.  113 

aid  them  in  making  the  wilderness  glad,  and  the 
desert  blossom  as  the  rose  ! 

I  have  something  more  to  add  about  the  elder 
of  the  two  boys.  It  was  remarkable  how  he 
exhibited  the  ruling  passion,  if  we  may  so  call 
it,  if  not  in  death,  at  least  in  sickness,  and  as 
long  as  he  well  could.  In  the  commencement  of 
his  disease,  although  compelled  to  stay  at  home 
from  school,  he  was  yet  well  enough  to  range 
the  house.  But  how  marked  the  contrast  be- 
tween his  method  of  amusement  or  his  child- 
work  and  that  of  the  majority  of  children  who 
might  be  kept  in  similar  durance  !  He  put  his 
school-books  into  his  little  satchel,  and  imagined 
himself  a  colporter  carrying  good  Christian 
books  to  the  destitute  inhabitants  of  the  newly 
settled  West,  in  imitation  of  modes  of  action 
which  he  had  read  of  in  the  religious  papers,  or 
heard  about  from  his  parents  or  at  the  Sunday 
school.  As  if  going  from  house  to  house,  he 
would  knock  at  the  door  of  a  room ;  then,  as  if 
hearing  an  expected  voice,  enter,  and  make  his 
salutations  to  the  imaginary  inmates,  courteously 
inquiring  if  they  would  like  to  take  some  good 
books  which  had  been  sent  by  some  excellent 
people  for  their  use.  Thus  he  proceeded  from 
room  to  room  in  this  beautiful,  evangelic  play, 


114  MANAGEMENT   OF   THE  SELFHOOD. 

until  the  very  moment,  for  aught  I  know,  when 
he  was  cast  upon  that  bed  from  which  he 
arose,  in  his  spirit-form,  to  meet  the  welcoming 
angels. 

The  Son  of  God  bows  himself  down  from  the 
right  hand  of  the  infinite  throne  to  bless  such 
children,  and  to  breathe  on  them  his  Spirit. 
Parent,  he  would  thus  do  to  your  own  little 
ones :  he  only  waits  for  you  to  bring  them  nearer 
to  the  heavenly  courts. 


PASSAGES   FROM  A  LECTURE. 


I.  —  G  I  F  T  S. 


TT  is  customary  in  many  families,  perhaps  in 
most  of  any  considerable  culture,  to  inter- 
change gifts,  especially  on  the  usual  annual 
occasions.  This  is  well.  By  these  tokens,  the 
affections  are  drawn  out,  interwoven,  and  bound 
fast.  But  it  should  be  understood,  that  it  is  not 
so  important  for  the  parent  to  bestow  on  the 
child,  as  for  the  child  to  bestow  on  the  parent. 
Filial  love  is  enhanced  far  more  by  giving  than 
by  receiving.  In  this  there  is  something  much 
better  than  accepting,  and  being  grateful.  The 
affectionate  heart  must  prompt,  the  excited 
intellect  must  contrive,  and  the  diligent  hand 
must  execute.  There  must  be  a  series,  perhaps 
a  long  series,  of  impulses,  thoughts,  and  actions. 
All  these  have  reference  to  the  beloved  relative, 
and  they  all  develop  the  heart  more  and  more 
toward  him.  The  more  numerous  the  antece- 


118  PASSAGES   FROM   A    LECTURE. 

dents  to  the  bestowment,  the  more  developed  is 
the  love  which  prompts  the  beautiful  attention. 
I  have  a  true  story  charmingly  appropriate  to 
the  subject :  — 

The  celebrated  Scotch  phrenologist,  Mr. 
George  Combe,  when  travelling  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe,  fell  in  with  a  distinguished 
musician  as  a  fellow-passenger  in  a  stage-coach. 
The  artist  remarked  to  him,  while  speaking  of 
his  profession,  that  he  had  a  son  who  was  as 
accomplished  a  performer  as  himself  on  the 
violin,  his  favorite  instrument.  "  I  discovered," 
said  he,  "  that  he  had  a  remarkable  talent  for 
music  when  he  was  about  six  years  of  age.  On 
one  of  my  birthday  mornings,  I  was  awakened 
from  sleep,  at  break  of  day,  by  hearing  my 
favorite  tune  performed  on  my  favorite  instru- 
ment most  enchantingly.  In  delightful  amaze- 
ment, I  tossed  away  the  clothes,  and  looked  out ; 
and  what  did  I  behold  ?  —  my  darling  boy  thus 
making  a  birthday  present  to  his  father. 

"  I  found,  on  explanation,  that,  months  before, 
he  had  obtained  the  instrument  from  his  mother, 
together  with  her  consent  to  his  little  plan:  so 
he  practised  that  one  tune  particularly  and  con- 
tinually, till  he  had  perfected  himself  in  it. 
Then,  when  the  day  came  and  the  dawn  first 


GIFTS.  119 

gleamed,  lie  stole  to  his  father's  bedside,  and 
poured  his  birthday  present  into  his  ear. 

"  And  what  did  you  do,  sir  ? "  inquired  Mr. 
Combe. 

"  I  wept." 


120  PASSAGES   FROM    A    LECTURE. 


II.  —  BAD   COMPANIONSHIP. 


T)ARENTS  often  complain  of  the  bad  com- 
panionship to  which  their  children  are 
exposed.  "  If  our  boys,"  say  they,  "  could  only 
have  proper  companions,  it  would  be  easy 
enough  to  manage  them ;  and  all  would  go 
right."  To  such  complainers,  let  it  be  said  that 
there  is  one  method  of  securing  good  compa- 
nionship, which  is  not  sufficiently  thought  of. 
Let  parents  themselves  be  companions  to  their 
sons  and  daughters,  and  the  best  of  companions 
too.  The  public-house  or  the  village-store  is  no 
place  for  a  father's  leisure  time.  Home  is  his 
proper  place  ;  his  family,  his  richest  possession  ; 
and  training  and  making  happy  his  children,  his 
appointed  and  his  highest  work.  It  should  be 
his  most  delightful  work.  Let  not  his  private 
reading  absorb  all  his  time,  while  the  children 
cower  stilly  in  the  corner,  or  run  riot  without 


BAD    COMPANIONSHIP.  121 

disturbing  his  abstractedness.  Let  him  join 
them  at  times  in  their  juvenile  literature,  sym- 
pathize with  them  in  its  entertainments,  and  aid 
them  to  apply  its  instructions.  Indeed,  the 
little  golden  cups  of  genius,  proffered  now  by 
many  eminent  writers,  cannot  but  refresh  and 
nurture  even  the  adult  mind. 

Again,  let  the  father  —  let  both  parents  con- 
descend to  mingle  in  the  children's  pastimes, 
and  they  will  enjoy  such  playfellows  full  as  well 
as  those  of  their  own  age.  Ever  let  them 
remember,  however,  to  leave  their  play  without 
having  lost  any  of  the  strength  or  the  dignity  of 
parentage. 

A  highly  respected  merchant,  speaking  of  his 
own  methods  of  discipline,  remarked  that  he 
never  had  the  least  difficulty  from  his  children's 
wandering  off  with  bad  companions,  or  wishing 
to  wander.  "  We  take  care,"  said  he,  "  fre- 
quently to  invite,  for  an  evening,  virtuous  and 
most  unexceptionable  young  acquaintances  to 
our  house.  AVe  join  most  heartily  in  the  juven- 
ile sports.  Indeed  we  task  our  own  minds  to 
invent  new  games  for  our  mutual  recreation ; 
and  truly  we  do  succeed  in  making  home  the 
happiest  place  in  all  the  world  to  our  chil- 
dren.''' 


122       PASSAGES  FROM  A  LECTURE. 

Another  gentleman,  careful  as  to  the  exposure 
of  his  sons,  adopts  especial  means  to  keep  them 
from  bad  associations  on  holiday  occasions.  For 
instance :  if  there  is  to  be  no  great  public  cele- 
bration on  a  Fourth  of  July  in  his  little  city, 
and  yet  the  population  are  all  loose  abroad,  he 
would  keep  his  own  sons  at  home.  .So  he  gets 
up  a  celebration  of  Independence  within  his 
own  domestic  domain.  He  prepares,  in  connec- 
tion with  his  children,  a  regular  programme  of 
exercises.  He  constitutes  himself  the  president 
of  the  day,  and  makes  an  oration.  Then  the 
whole  family  contrive  to  get  up  toasts.  One 
son  is  a  toastmaster ;  and  another  son  writes  an 
ode,  as  he  is  something  of  a- poet.  The  whole 
celebration  is  concluded  by  a  few  fireworks  in 
the  yard.  In  the  mean  time,  the  star-spangled 
banner  waves  over  the  scene.  Thus  his  chil- 
dren are  trained  to  consider,  that  home  is  not 
only  the  most  patriotic,  but  for  them  the  happi- 
est, place  in  the  country.  Enviable  fathers  ! 
would  that  thousands  of  others  would  go  and  do 
likewise ! 


IRRITABILITY   OF   TEMPER.  123 


III.  —  IRRITABILITY   OF   TEMPER. 


ri^IIERE  is  perhaps  as  much  fault  in  the  man- 
-*-  agement  of  a  child's  temper  as  in  any  one 
thing  relating  to  domestic  discipline.  When 
the  temper  of  a  quite  young  child  is  once 
roused,  he  is  a  perfect  rebel.  Nothing  but  ab- 
solute strength  can  restrain  his  squirming  body. 
He  cannot  be  reasoned  with  at  this  age,  and 
especially  in  this  condition.  What  can  be  done? 
Nothing  but  to  wait  till  the  little  tempest  has 
gone  down,  as  we  wait  for  that  of  the  weather 
to  get  exhausted.  Let  no  perturbed  feelings 
appear  in  the  actions  or  faces  of  bystanders,  if 
it  can  possibly  be  helped.  Especially  let  the 
person  in  immediate  care  strive  for  patience  in 
the  heart,  and  serenity  on  the  countenance. 
Let  there  be  soft,  sweet  soothings,  —  no  loud 
exclamations.  Sometimes  the  attention  may  be 
diverted  to  some  attractive  object,  and  the  trou- 


124       PASSAGES  FROM  A  LECTURE. 

ble  pass  away.  But  be  sure  that  there  shall  be 
no  responsive  excitement  of  any  kind  in  others 
around.  Every  child  is  born  with  the  resentful 
emotion  slumbering  in  his  nature.  With  all 
care,  it  will  sometimes  start  forth.  But  love 
and  a  wise  self-possession  will  be  adequate  to 
the  emergency. 

Above  all  others,  parents  should  not  put  to 
this  element  the  kindling  spark  of  their  own 
irascible  dispositions.  Yet  how  often  is  this 
the  case  !  The  child,  for  instance,  is  at  his 
interesting  work,  —  mischief  so  called  ;  and  he 
breaks  a  choice  vase,  or  soils  some  fancy-work. 
Now,  the  parent  is  any  thing  but  the  self-pos- 
sessed and  patient  one  that  provokes  not  chil- 
dren to  wrath.  To  be  startled  at  the  accident 
is  pardonable  ;  but  what  a  look !  what  a  tone  ! 
Ah  !  what  a  hand  on  that  unintentional  misdoer  ! 
Then  the  child,  catching  the  baleful  spirit,  — 
with  what  look  and  tone  and  action  he  images 
back  -the  angry  parent !  How  is  the  tender,  the 
sweet,  and  the  lovely  scorched  and  withered  away 
by  such  outbursts  of  the  nether  elements  ! 

"  But  I  can't  help  this  temper  "  is  the  excuse. 
"  I  inherited  it  from  my  own  parents  :  they  didn't 
manage  it  well  in  my  own  childhood.  Indeed  I 
wish  I  could  govern  it  as  I  should."  Can  you 


IRRITABILITY   OF   TEMPER.  125 

not  do  it,  my  friend  ?  Let  us  see.  Suppose 
you  have  company,  much-respected  friends,  and 
a  vase  is  broken  or  some  fancy-work  soiled  ;  then 
how  soft  the  admonition !  The  very  scolding  is 
as  sweet  as  music  ;  and  the  visitors  go  away 
with  the  idea  and  exclamation,  "  What  an  amia- 
ble disposition  ! " 

Your  excuse  is,  that  you  cannot  maintain 
calmness  under  a  sudden  excitement  of  feeling. 
As  to  this,  let  us  have  another  illustration :  A 
careless  father  leaves  his  naked  razor  on  the 
table,  on  some  brief  absence  from  the  room. 
The  little  child  is  entertaining  himself  with  his 
own  resources.  The  mother,  that  mother  who 
was  yesterday  so  hasty  spirited,  is  occupied 
with  her  affairs.  At  length,  her  eye  catches  a 
glimpse  of  the  little  experimenter ;  and,  behold  ! 
he,  curious  creature,  wishing  to  know  something 
about  razors,  has  the  glittering  implement  in 
his  hand.  His  tender  finger  is  within  a  hair's 
breadth  of  the  fearful  edge.  Well,  she  is  sud- 
denly surprised,  far  more  than  yesterday :  she 
is  dreadfully  alarmed.  But  does  she  start  and 
spring,  and  startle  the  unconscious  innocent  ? 
Does  she  scream  out  and  catch  hold?  Oh,  no  ! 
At  the  least  joggle  of  that  tiny,  unsteady  hand, 
the  finger  may  slip,  and  there  will  be  a  bloody 


126       PASSAGES  FROM  A  LECTURE. 

gash ;  or  the  implement  may  drop  on  his  tender 
foot,  and  he  will  be  maimed  for  life.  What 
now  ?  "  Hold  it  fast,  darling ;  let  mother  have 
it;  hold  it  fast."  "What  astonishing  self-posses- 
sion !  How  engaging  her  smile !  how  winning 
her  tones  !  and  her  tread  is  as  soft  as  a  rose-leaf 
lighting  on  the  verdure  beneath ;  and  the  child, 
charmed  and  drawn  by  such  sweet,  motherly 
magnetism,  renders  up  the  deadly  thing,  and  is 
safe.  Now,  why  cannot  this  parent  realize,  that 
the  pricking  temper,  the  deeply  cutting  anger, 
indulged  over  and  over  again  by  the  child, 
makes  wounds  in  the  tender  spiritual  frame- 
work, which,  hidden  from  the  world's  eye,  may 
last  on  and  last  on,  and  be  very  sore,  long  after 
gashes  from  inanimate  steel  shall  have  been 
healed  ?  Woe  to  that  mother  or  father,  woe  to 
that  elder  sister  or  brother,  whose  own  uncon- 
trolled temper  shall  intensify  or  occasion  such 
anguish  in  the  young  and  helpless  soul ! 


CHILDREN   AT   TABLE.  127 


IV.  — CHILDREN   AT   TABLE. 


nnilERE  is  one  time  and  one  place  at  which 
an  indulged  and  mismanaged  family  gene- 
rally exhibit  about  their  worst.  It  is  the  meal- 
time and  the  table.  How  often  are  they  the 
occasion  at  which  the  lower  nature  in  the  child, 
the  animal,  manifests  its  claws,  its  teeth,  and  its 
quarrelsome  voracity  !  The  call  is  given  for  the 
morning,  mid-day,  or  evening  repast,  —  no  mat- 
ter which ;  and  now  how  the  creatures  rush  to 
their  feeding  !  What  a  scraping  and  squeaking 
of  chairs,  as  they  drag  them  up  or  pull  them 
back  !  What  rattle  and  racket,  as  they  creep 
up  or  tumble  on  !  Then  what  hastening  to  the 
onset !  —  cries  for  this  or  that !  or,  without  a 
cry,  they  dash  into  one  thing,  or  slash  across 
another.  Then  there  is  the  hue  perhaps,  espe- 
cially at  the  daintier  articles,  "  Mother,  he's 
getting  it  almost  all :  I  sha'n't  have  any."  The 


128        PASSAGES  FROM.  A  LECTURE. 

reply  is  snapped  back :  "  I  say  I'm  not  getting 
it  all ;  but  you  got  it  almost  all  yesterday,  and 
I'm  going  to  have  my  share  to-day."  Indeed, 
all  law  and  order,  if  there  ever  were  any,  are 
entirely  upset ;  and  perhaps  some  dishes  are  up- 
set too. 

There  is  no  more  strength  of  authority  in  that 
distracted  and  custom-hardened  mother  than 
there  is  in  a  wreath  of  steam  curling  up  from 
the  hot  cookery.  It  is  possible  that  the  father's 
grum  voice  and  stern  look  may  command  order ; 
or,  very  likely,  they  may  not.  He  perhaps  con- 
siders the  meals,  and  the  management  thereat, 
the  mother's  affair,  unless  the  uproar  becomes 
quite  insupportable. 

Then  he  simply  exclaims,  "  Pshaw,  pshaw  ! 
what  a  noise  you  make  !  "  And  he  meekly  puts 
down  his  food  with  Yankee,  tavern-like  velocity, 
and  scuds  out  of  his  own  home,  away  from  his 
own  empire,  as  if  to  save  his  ears. 

As  it  regards  these  unmannerly  and  unman- 
ageable children  at  the  table,  there  is  one  simple 
rule.  It  is  this  :  If  a  child  does  not  come  quietly, 
and  take  his  own  proper  place,  and  there  wait 
till  he  is  helped ;  and  then,  if  lie  should  not  be 
satisfied  with  what  he  is  helped  to  in  ordinary 
circumstances,  —  indeed,  should  he  behave  in 


CHILDREN   AT   TABLE.  129 

any  way  such  as  would  put  you  to  the  blush 
(with  company),  —  send  him  away  instantly. 
Do  not  threaten,  as  the  majority  of  parents  do, 
"  You  shall  leave  the  table,  if  you  don't  behave 
better.  I  tell  you,  you  shall."  What  cares  he  ? 
He  knows  it  is  nothing  but  breath  :  he  has  heard 
the  threat  ever  since  he  can  remember.  No : 
let  the  rule  be  understood  and  established ; 
let  it  be  acted  on  as  instantaneously  as  the 
report  follows  the  flash  of  a  gun,  —  only  with 
perfect  gentleness,  as  well  as  decision,  on  your 
part.  There  should  be  no  harshness  of  voice, 
or  roughness  of  hand :  indeed  there  will  be  no 
need  of  it,  if  such  shall  be  the  well-understood 
rule. 

It  may  be  said,  that  the  child,  by  some  inad- 
vertence, may  make  an  unintentional  mistake. 
Very  well :  then  the  certain  penalty  will  prevent 
future  carelessness.  This  would  avert,  perhaps, 
a  similar  carelessness  and  ill  manners,  and  con- 
fusion of  countenance,  when  there  shall  be 
company.  Indeed,  so  train  your  child,  and  it 
may  certainly  be  done,  that  you  shall  just  mo- 
tion with  your  finger  for  him  to  leave  the  table, 
and  he  shall  instantly  obey  and  be  gone ;  and  all 
so  quietly,  that  the  persons  present,  possibly, 
shall  be  first  made  aware,  by  his  vacant  place, 
9 


130       PASSAGES  FROM  A  LECTURE. 

that  he  has  left.  Thus,  under  all  circumstances 
at  the  table,  you  are  at  ease ;  you  have  no  fear ; 
and  your  children  are  being  formed  at  once  to 
easy  and  appropriate  manners,  whatever  be  the 
company. 

Do  not,  however,  follow  the  example  of  a 
brother-clergyman.  "  I  have  complied  with  your 
rule  already,"  he  remarked,  as  I  was  commend- 
ing this  method  of  discipline.  "  I  have  sent  my 
children  away  for  bad  behavior.  But  I  find  they 
like  nothing  better ;  for  they  have  then  a  capital 
time  in  the  kitchen  with  the  maids."  —  "  Did 
you  send  them  into  the  kitchen  ?  "  I  asked  in 
reply.  —  "  Oh,  yes  !  where  else  should  they  go  ?  " 
—  "  Not  there,"  I  rejoined ;  "  for,  while  you  and 
the  mother  are  eating  the  pudding,  they  will 
there  be  eating  the  pie  or  the  cake,  or  whatever 
nice  bit  the  good-humored  girls  can  hunt  up  to 
tickle  their  palates,  and  gain  their  favor.  Oh, 
no !  that  is  not  the  way.  Put  each  in  a  corner 
by  himself,  with  no  fellowship  from  anybody,  or 
any  thing  but  his  own  memory  and  heart  and 
conscience.  Let  him  feel  how  very  lonely  and 
how  very  cold  it  is  to  be  shut  away  from  the 
genial  table,  and  the  warm,  loving  hearts  around; 
and  such  discipline  will  not  often  need  to  be 
repeated." 


CHILDREN  AT  TABLE.  131 

Why  should  there  not  be  perfect  propriety  of 
manners  at  home,  and  in  all  its  unguarded  priva- 
cy, as  well  as  anywhere  else  ?  There  should 
certainly  be  respectful  manners  and  language 
to  parents  there,  and  particularly  at  the  table. 
There  should  be  courtesy  also  to  brothers  and 
sisters ;  and  here  is  a  very  special  opportunity, 
which  ought  not  to  be  neglected.  Indeed,  the 
table  is  about  the  best  possible  schooling-place 
for  manners.  Every  day,  regularly,  it  presents 
opportunity  for  theory  and  practice.  The  table 
is  the  place  where  the  sweetest  family  affections 
may  be  cultivated,  and  the  heart  flow  around 
from  one  to  another,  as  nowhere  else.  Every 
meal  should  present  something  new  of  intelli- 
gence brought  by  those  who  come  from  abroad. 
With  a  little  effort,  with  a  little  regard  for  the 
great  ends  of  existence,  certainly  this  might  be 
realized  to  an  extent  far  beyond  what  has  ever 
been  before  in  the  majority  of  families.  Let  the 
meal  be  the  simplest :  should  necessity  compel, 
it  may  be  nothing  but  bread  and  fruits ;  and  yet 
there  may  be  as  rich  a  pastime  to  the  intellect 
and  heart  as  the  most  abundant  wealth,  or  even 
royal  revenues,  could  afford. 

The  table  is  the  special  place  and  scene  of 
what  is  called  "  hospitality."  This  word  gene- 


132       PASSAGES  FROM  A  LECTURE. 

rally  has  reference  to  those  who  come  in  from 
without ;  but  it  may  have  a  higher  meaning,  and 
be  applied  to  those  who  abide  together  within. 
Each  family,  and  loving  and  beloved  soul  in  it, 
may  have  at  the  table,  and  at  every  meal,  an- 
other and  new  occasion  for  fresh  hospitality  to 
the  dear  souls  around.  This  consists  in  utter- 
ance, with  the  common  desire  to  entertain,  or  in 
listening,  with  a  desire  to  be  entertained  ;  for 
it  is  hospitable,  as  well  as  courteous,  to  listen,  — 
inasmuch  as,  when  one  thinks  he  can  do  good 
by  speech,  he  likes  to  be  heard.  How  beautiful 
might  these  table-manners  be,  in  all  they  com- 
prehend as  to  the  mental  as  well  as  the  material 
man  ! 

Thus  a  family  would  be  prepared  for  pro- 
priety, grace,  kind  feeling,  anywhere.  They 
might  sit  down  in  the  humblest  abode,  or  with 
the  rudest  people,  and  still  put  them  at  perfect 
ease  ;  and  this  without  at  all  participating  in 
their  rudeness.  They  might  sit  in  the  highest 
circles  of  our  country,  indeed  with  nobles  and 
princes,  and  make  themselves  agreeable  and 
respected  by  their  charming  gracefulness,  joined 
with  their  pure  Christian  simplicity. 

Finally :    do  not  forget  the  rule,  SEND  THEM 

INSTANTLY   AWAY. 


SUGGESTIONS 


THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE   OBSERVING 
FACULTIES. 


NOTE. 


To  leave  moral  training  for  the  present,  attention  is  asked  to  a 
subject  not  so  absolutely  important  as  the  preceding,  but  one  in 
which  parents  should  have  a  lively  interest.  Many  years  ago,  the 
present  writer,  in  lecturing  on  early  intellectual  culture,  earnestly 
urged  the  discipline  of  the  observing  faculties.  He  then  had  not  the 
remotest  idea,  that  this  discipline,  as  an  indispensable  requisite, 
would  be  so  long  neglected ;  for  it  was  at  that  time  practised  in 
European  schools,  and  advocated  also  by  eminent  writers  in  our 
own  country.  More  than  twenty  years,  however,  have  elapsed  since 
his  first  humble  efforts  and  sanguine  expectations ;  and  yet  but  little 
progress  comparatively  has  been  made  in  this  direction.  In  prepar- 
ing this  volume,  it  came  forcibly  to  mind,  that  a  much-needed  help 
might  be  rendered  to  the  family,  and  indirectly  to  the  school,  by 
some  practical  suggestions  on  this  part  of  education.  By  the  aid  of 
a  single  written  passage  and  some  brief  notes,  some  former  utter- 
ances, which  were  mostly  extemporaneous,  have  been  introduced 
into  this  work,  interspersed  with  fresh  matter  suggested  by  more 
recent  circumstances. 

It  may  be  further  premised,  to  prevent  any  possible  misconcep- 
tion, that  it  is  not  intended  to  crowd  upon  childhood  what  is  above 
its  ability.  Some  of  the  proposed  exercises  are  perhaps  more 
appropriate  to  youth.  Most  of  them,  however,  might  be  entered 
into  by  children  of  various  ages,  in  company  with  the  parents  them- 
selves, all  in  mutual  cultivation  of  the  observing  faculties.  These 
suggestions  are  presented  by  one  who  has  read  and  thought  much 
on  these  subjects,  and  who  has  no  interest  but  the  best  good  of  the 
community,  older  and  younger.  Will  parents,  will  all  readers, 
consider  them  with  candor,  and  ask  themselves,  without  any  sort  of 
prejudice,  whether  they  are  not  sustained  by  reason  and  plain  com- 
mon sense?  Most  especially  are  they  entreated  to  observe  their 
bearing  on  success  in  business  and  most  of  the  practical  affairs  in 
life. 


SUGGESTIONS 


THE   DISCIPLINE  OF  THE   OBSERVING 
FACULTIES. 


THE   BEGINNING. 

intellectual  development  of  the  human 
being  begins  as  soon  as  he  can  open  his 
eyes,  and  put  forth  his  little  hand,  —  as  soon  as 
his  senses  come  in  contact  with  the  material 
world.  From  this  time  onward,  he  is  continually 
gaining  knowledge,  and  being  prepared  for  his 
future  of  life,  usefulness,  and  enjoyment.  It  is 
said,  that  all  the  simple  elements  of  knowledge 
and  the  best  part  of  man's  education  are  obtained 
by  the  time  he  is  five  years  of  age.  These  foun- 
dations are  mainly  laid  at  home.  The  work  is, 
or  should  be,  under  the  supervision  of  the 
parents.  This  education,  however,  goes  on, 
whether  they  attend  to  it  or  not.  Indeed,  the 
child  will  be  continually  educating  himself.  It 
may  be  truly  said,  that  the  first  and  the  most 
important  part  of  man's  intellectual  culture,  as 
things  have  been,  is  self-culture.  Now,  this 


136  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

fostering  from  kindly  nature,  this  forth-putting 
and  forth-grasping  of  the  infant  faculties,  may 
be  exceedingly  assisted  by  the  parents  and 
other  older  members  of  the  family,  if  they  did 
but  think  of  it,  and  would  but  give  themselves 
to  it.  Help,  in  this  primary  home  institution,  is 
as  valuable  as  it  is  in  the  public  seminaries  to 
which  the  mind  is  afterward  introduced.  In 
the  majority  of  homes,  however,  this  assistance 
is  casually  and  poorly  rendered.  It  is  because 
parents  have  the  notion  that  they  have  nothing 
to  do  with  intellectual  development.  This  they 
suppose  belongs  only  to  the  schools.  If  a  child 
asks  a  question  about  any  thing  new  to  his 
curiosity,  he  may  be  kindly  answered.  If  he 
persistently  puts  many  questions,  he  is  patiently 
borne  with,  or  perhaps  hastily  hushed  or  snapped 
off.  The  parents  have  not  the  least  suspicion, 
that,  in  replying  to  such  questions,  they  are 
really  exercising  tutorships  and  professorships 
as  important,  to  say  the  least,  as  any  in  college. 
Indeed,  it  may  be  affirmed  with  absolute  truth, 
that  as  schools  have  generally  been  conducted, 
especially  for  little  children,  the  education  mostly 
stops  at  the  school  threshold ;  at  least,  it  begins 
to  be  exceedingly  hindered,  as  will  plainly  ap- 
pear. 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  187 


KNOWLEDGE   WITHOUT   BOOKS. 

Just  watch  a  babe,  and  see  what  Nature,  or 
rather  his  own  divinely  devised  constitution, 
prompts  him  to  do ;  and  let  us  gather  useful 
hints  from  the  observation.  As  soon  as  there  is 
any  visual  discernment,  there  is  a  separation  of 
one  thing  from  another,  and  the  reception  of  dis- 
tinct ideas.  The  little  one  leaves  the  maternal 
lap,  for  what?  —  to  work,  and  to  get  knowledge 
to  prepare  him  for  more  and  more  work.  He 
creeps  about  the  room,  not  only  for  the  pleasure 
of  muscular  action,  but  to  seek  for  new  objects 
to  his  curiosity ;  hunting  for  prey,  if  we  may  so 
speak,  as  food  to  his  awakened  and  craving 
perceptions.  Every  thing  he  gets  hold  of  is  a 
subject  of  interest,  —  a  fund  of  entertainment ; 
and,  though  his  mother  perhaps  thinks  not  of  it, 
it  is  a  source  of  most  valuable  instruction.  We 
cannot  just  yet  say  of  him,  that  "  he  who  runs 
may  read ;  "  but  we  may  say,  that  he  who  creeps 
can,  —  can  read  the  great  book  of  perceptible 
and  practical  knowledge  open  boundlessly  before 
him,  just  as  fast  and  far  as  he  can  get  at  it. 
Toeing  and  kneeing  it  along,  he  lays  hold  of 
every  thing  within  the  touch  and  the  crook 


138  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

of  his  fingers.  Why  ?  he  wants  knowledge,  and 
he  will  have  it.  First,  the  thing,  —  the  indivi- 
dual :  it  is  separate  from  some  other  thing  he 
perceives,  and  he  wants  to  know  about  it  as 
another  and  distinct  object.  Then  the  several 
perceptive  powers  come  into  action ;  finding 
out  the  various  qualities,  —  figure,  color,  size, 
weight,  —  as  they  are  peculiar  to  each  indivi- 
dual thing.  Thus  the  child  ranges  through  the 
room ;  and,  when  in  due  time  he  mounts  to 
the  top  of  his  feet,  he  runs  about  the  house, 
and  soon  out-doors,  and  then  round  about  the 
premises,  all  the  time  after  knowledge,  —  know- 
ledge of  objects,  qualities,  operations,  uses.  Be- 
fore the  little  looker  and  hunter  is  four  years 
old,  he  is  acquainted  with  hundreds  of  things,  — 
perhaps,  we  might  say,  thousands.  He  knows 
nothing  about  the  book,  it  may  be ;  but  is  he 
deficient  in  language  ?  By  no  means :  objects 
are  distinguished  by  names ;  qualities,  by  appro- 
priate terms.  What  riches  of  language  are  his, 
even  now,  though  he  may  never  have  been  at 
school,  and  cannot  read  a  word  !  All  this  time, 
he  has  been  in  training  for  the  duties  and  enjoy- 
ments of  maturer  life.  He  has  been  studying 
the  Creator's  perfect  works,  and  unconsciously 
finding  the  steps  which  lead  up  to  the  Most 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  139 

Wise  and  Most  Loving.  He  has  been  acquaint- 
ing himself  with  the  things  also  made  by  human 
hands,  and  examining  the  materials  of  which 
they  are  composed.  This  is  in  preparation  for 
the  time  when  he  himself  shall  make  similar 
things,  and  will  need  accurate  knowledge  of 
fabrics  and  materials  as  to  qualities  and  fitness 
for  specific  purposes. 

INDUSTRIAL   EFFORTS. 

Nay,  farther,  our  little  beginner  at  life  is 
something  more  than  a  learner :  he  is  a  maker. 
He  is  at  his  mechanics  too.  See  him  putting 
this  with  that  in  rude  efforts  at  construction ! 
Give  him  a  dozen  blocks,  and  he  is  in  absolute 
blessedness  at  work ;  building  up  and  pulling 
down,  and  altering,  his  wall  or  house,  or  what- 
ever else  he  may  be  striving  to  imitate.  How 
wonderfully  industrious,  imitative,  and  construct- 
ive !  He  wants  to  do  every  thing  he  sees  others 
do.  Give  him  little  tools,  fitted  to  his  little  fing- 
ers, and  how  delighted  !  How  he  skips  off,  all 
glee,  to  his  miniature  business  !  All  these  appli- 
cations of  his  strength,  and  trials  of  his  skill,  are 
instincts  and  impulses  to  prepare  him  for  the 
labors,  duties,  and  pleasures  of  life.  And  the  pa- 
rents ought  all  the  time  to  sympathize  with 


140  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

him ;  lending  a  hand,  now  and  then,  to  help  just 
enough  and  no  more  ;  catching  hints  from  in- 
structive Nature,  and  carrying  out  her  plans  far 
beyond  what  the  child's  unassisted  mind  could 
think  of  in  his  own  behalf.  But  they  do  no  such 
thing.  On  the  contrary,  they  cut  off  the  little 
learner  from  the  very  education  he  was  getting, 
as  well  as  he  could,  almost  all  alone.  They 
practically  declare,  "  Nature,  you  do  not  know 
as  much  as  old  usage  does,  —  usage  begun  in 
ignorance,  and  continued  in  stupidity." 

AN   ABUSE   OF   NATURE. 

But  let  us  more  particularly  consider  what  is 
done.  Oh  the  sad  change  which  comes  over 
this  childhood's  dream,  or  rather  over  this  con- 
tented, sweet  reality  !  This  is  what  we  do,  — 
we,  grown-up  and  pretendedly  grown-wiser  peo- 
ple :  we  catch  up  the  active,  looking,  learning, 
working,  and  manufacturing,  happy  little  crea- 
ture, and  clap  him,  together  with  twenties, 
thirties,  forties,  or  fifties  besides,  into  a  wooden 
box,  hardly,  in  some  instances,  large  enough  to 
hold  them  without  jamming  and  hurting  one 
against  the  other ;  and  fasten  him  upon  a  seat, 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  many  objects  he  has  been 
in  the  midst  of,  and  which  he  has  been  doing 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  141 

with,  as  Nature  intended.  Yes,  there  we  fasten 
him,  or  permit  our  agent,  the  school-committee 
or  the  school-teacher,  to  do  it ;  and  we  make  him 
bend  his  neck,  and  fix  his  eyes  on  a  plain,  dry 
surface  of  paper.  This  he  must  not  cut,  fold, 
crumple,  or  variously  shape,  in  the  way  of  cul- 
tivating his  manufacturing  abilities.  No :  he 
must  look  straight  down  upon  this  metamorpho- 
sis of  cotton.  Were  it  but  the  rags  out  of  which 
it  came,  many-shaped,  many-hued,  there  would 
be  sometking  to  hold  the  eye ;  but  what  does  he 
see  now  ?  Words,  words,  words  ;  little,  black, 
immovable  images,  which  he  cannot  get  his 
fingers  under.  What  cares  he  for  them  ?  Na- 
ture made  him  to  care  for  things,  and  for  words 
too,  just  so  far  as  they  stand  for  the  things  he 
has  to  do  with,  or  can  have  any  clear  idea  of. 
He,  indeed,  has  an  appetite,  if  we  may  so  speak, 
for  words,  so  far  as  they  convey  any  ideas ;  but 
we  do  not  consult  this  appetite,  but  give  him 
the  words  all  tasteless  of  meaning.  When  I  sav 
this,  I  do  not  mean  to  convey,  that  no  explana- 
tions at  all  are  ever  given,  but  that  none  scarcely 
are  given,  in  a  large  majority  of  schools,  take 
the  country  through,  in  immediate  connection 
with  the  things  to  which  they  belong.  Before 
the  child  enters  school,  it  is  always  things  ;  then, 


142  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

words.  At  school,  it  is  first  words,  and  then 
things ;  that  is,  if  the  pupil  shall  happen  to  come 
across  them.  Othenvise,  he  must  go  without 
such  substantial  acquaintance.  Now,  this  ought 
not  so  to  be.  This  period,  lent  by  Nature  to 
prepare  for  future  industry  and  livelihood,  ought 
not  to  be  so  unprofitably  and  wretchedly  spent. 
In  all  common  sense  and  true  philosophy,  this 
paper-deadening,  ink-blinding  delusion  should  be 
put  away.  But  what  shall  take  its  place  ?  Re- 
alities, life,  thought,  action,  intelligence  ;  just 
what  the  child  has  been  forced  to  leave  at  his 
own  home.  This  might  be  done,  and  how  easily 
and  cheaply  done  besides  !  Really  it  would  not 
cost,  on  the  whole,  so  much  as  school-weariness 
or  school-hate  costs,  when  it  breaks  over  bounds, 
and  runs  wild  into  mischief. 

PROFITABLE   SCHOOLING. 

Let  our  primary  schoolrooms,  and  indeed 
the  higher  schoolrooms,  be  well  provided  with 
shelves  and  boxes.  Let  these  be  filled  with  all 
sorts  of  productions  of  nature  and  art;  speci- 
mens of  all  sorts  of  wood  and  metals ;  all  kinds 
of  cloth  and  leather,  or  any  other  fabric,  — 
indeed,  of  every  thing  which  can  well  be 
brought  into  a  school,  and  put  in  some  proper 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  143 

receptacle.  Let  each  one  of  these  objects  be 
a  subject  for  examination  by  classes,  in  con- 
venient order,  under  the  direction  of  the 
teacher.  In  this  way,  the  plan  begun  by  Nature 
at  home  would  be  carried  out,  and  carried  out 
much  farther  than  could  possibly  be  at  home 
under  ordinary  circumstances  ;  as  many  objects 
would  be  supplied  by  the  scholars  from  differ- 
ent families,  which  could  not  be  had,  excepting 
as  each  was  found  in  a  different  home.  All 
the  perceptive  faculties  would  here  find  delight- 
ful occupation,  and  be  continually  gaining  in 
strength.  Children  would  hardly  be  tired  of 
such  observation,  due  regard  being  given  to 
their  comfort  and  constitutional  power  of  atten- 
tion. Indeed,  if  rightly  managed,  they  would 
enter  heartily  into  minute  examinations,  and 
comparisons  of  one  thing  with  another  ;  for 
there  might  be  a  healthful  and  spirited  emula- 
tion in  the  exercise.  It  may  be  farther  re- 
marked, that  the  words  designating  the  object 
in  hand,  and  its  qualities  and  uses,  must  come 
into  the  occasion.  These  the  children  learn 
just  as  readily  as  they  learn  at  home  the  name 
of  the  lamp,  and  that  it  is  bright  and  hot ;  or 
the  terms  belonging  to  any  thing  else.  Lan- 
guage is  not  lost,  but  rather  most  richly  gained, 


144  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

by  this  use  of  the  time.  Furthermore,  just 
consider  the  practical  utility  of  this  mode  of 
education.  What  a  wide  and  minute  acquaint- 
ance is  formed  with  things,  as  necessaries,  com- 
forts, and  luxuries,  in  living,  or  as  appertaining 
to  the  various  affairs  of  business  !  How  the 
quality  of  the  material  and  of  the  manufacture 
of  a  commodity  will  be  compared  with  the  qua- 
lity of  another  of  the  same  kind  ;  so  that,  by  the 
time  the  child  shall  be  old  enough  to  leave 
school,  he  shall  have  run  through  the  whole 
range  of  objects  ever  used  in  ordinary  life,  and 
be  able  to  detect  the  minutest  differences  be- 
tween one  and  another  of  the  same  sort !  With 
such  a  training,  it  would  be  utterly  impossible 
for  manufacturer  or  trader  to  impose  an  inferior 
production  on  the  purchaser.  He  must  propor- 
tion his  price  to  the  quality,  or  keep  his  goods 
on  his  hands.  With  the  ignorance  of  commodi- 
ties in  which  people  have  been  kept  until  grown 
up,  and  obliged  to  purchase  for  themselves,  how 
continually  have  they  been  subjected  to  impo- 
sitions on  their  credulity,  and  to  consequent 
annoyance  of  spirit !  It  has  really  taken  a  life- 
time to  obtain  that  practical  knowledge  of  qua- 
lities and  fitnesses  which  might  be  acquired 
by  boys  and  girls  before  they  should  be  half 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  145 

tli rough  their  teens,  were  the  common-sense  and 
time-saving  method  above  explained  adopted. 
How  also  are  the  poor  runv  imposed  upon  ! 
They  must  take  a  second  or  third  rate  article 
at  a  very  little  reduction  from  the  price  of  the 
best,  to  make  a  small  saving.  Yet,  in  the  long- 
run,  theirs  are  the  dearest  purchases  of  all.  But, 
with  such  an  education,  there  could  scarcely  be 
any  imposition  on  anybody.  The  children  of 
the  poor,  in  our  common  schools,  are  equally 
learners  with  those  of  the  rich.  If  those  who 
are  pinched  for  money  must  seek  the  cheapest 
thing,  they  will  know  exactly  its  comparative 
value,  and  will  either  have  fair  terms,  or  go  to 
some  competitor  more  favorable  to  their  circum- 
stances. Then  the  struggle  would  be  among 
the  manufacturers  to  see  who  should  excel,  — 
who  should  go  ahead  in  improvement,  —  as 
knowing  that  the  purchasers  have  been  trained 
from  very  infancy  to  detect  imperfections.  Then 
the  trader  could  not  deceive  the  buyer,  if  the 
manufacturer  should  succeed  in  deceiving  him. 
Indeed,  retailer,  jobber,  wholesale  dealer,  and 
manufacturer  must  all  be  honest  men,  selling  at 
prices  exactly  just ;  that  is,  according  to  quality, 
all  other  circumstances  being  equitably  con- 
sidered. If  every  article  in  a  dry-goods  store 
10 


146  THE   DISCIPLINE   OP   THE 

or  a  grocery,  or  any  other  furnishing  establish- 
ment, were  thus  put  to  the  test  of  minute  exami- 
nation and  comparison,  the  reign  of  that  old 
hollow-hearted  despot  whose  power  is  in  his 
own  pretence  and  in  the  ignorance  of  his  sub- 
jects —  the  reign  of  King  Sham  —  would  be 
ended. 

LOSS    AND    GAIN. 

Thus  much  might  easily  be  done  in  our 
schools ;  yes,  and  save  enough  money  by  the 
"  operation,"  as  trading  people  have  the  term, 
to  pay  the  whole  school-tax.  Just  think  of  it, 
friends  !  —  how  much  the  majority  of  people 
actually  lose  out  of  pocket  by  overpaying  for 
poor  commodities  !  Or,  if  price  and  quality  do 
go  honestly  together,  how  much  uncomfortable- 
ness  is  often  occasioned  to  the  body,  and  trouble 
to  the  spirit,  by  these  cheap  imperfections ! 
How  often,  too,  the  purse  suffers,  in  the  long- 
run,  by  all  the  rip?,  breakages,  and  good-for- 
nothingness  for  which  the  few  dollars  or  few 
cents  saved  are  far  from  making  up  !  Who  has 
not  had  occasion  to  feel  the  truth  of  the  saying, 
"The  cheapest  things  are  the  dearest"?  Just 
look  round  your  premises,  and  take  a  distinct 
observation  of -all  the  various  necessaries,  com- 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  147 

forts,  luxuries,  and  elegances  there  gathered. 
Consider  the  ceaseless  rush  of  wearables,  eata- 
bles, drinkables,  and  burnables  into  your  house- 
hold receptacles.  Then  reflect  that  all  this 
mixed  and  continuous  avalanche  of  earthy  mat- 
ter is  sweeping  through  your  doors  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  married  life,  half  a  cen- 
tury perhaps  and  more,  costing  to  moderate 
fortunes,  for  fifty  years,  fifty  thousand  dollars 
at  least,  and  to  others  twice  or  four  times  that 
amount ;  and  then  reflect  how  often  through  this 
long  period  the  twain  and  their  dependents  have 
been  mistaken,  have  been  cheated,  or  somehow 
have  lost  in  their  bargainings,  in  consequence 
of  not  having  their  senses  about  them ;  at  least 
one  sense  wide  open  and  sharp,  —  that  is,  the 
sight.  Yes,  friends,  take  all  these  absolute  re- 
alities into  a  clear  comprehension,  and  then  tell 
me  whether  the  shelves  and  boxes  of  specimen 
goods  at  the  schoolroom,  and  the  careful  inspec- 
tion and  comparison  of  them  by  the  pupils,  in 
the  course  of  all  the  long  years  passed  there, 
are  nothing  but  a  theorist's  icliim. 

But,  alas  !  even  if  you  should  think  this  com- 
modity project  not  a  whim,  but  rather  an  all- 
important  requisite,  it  would  be  quite  in  vain 
as  schools  are  now  arranged.  Even  if  parents, 


148  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

committees,  and  teachers  should  all  be  convinced 
of  the  value  of  the  proposition,  it  might  take  no 
short  time  to  get  it  into  action.  Who  does  not 
know  that  public  improvements,  however  well 
acknowledged,  are  often  postponed  for  years? 
Inconvenient  and  unhealthy  schoolrooms  in  ci- 
ties, and  miserable  old  schoolhouses  in  the 
country,  prove  this  fact.  However,  the  better 
time  is  coming,  as  a  few  schools  here  and  there 
in  our  country  bear  witness.  In  the  mean  time, 
good  parents,  what  shall  prevent  you  from  going 
into  this  commodity  training  at  once  in  your 
own  families?  Indeed  your  children  are  at  it 
now,  all  by  themselves,  —  even  the  youngest 
creeper  on  the  carpet.  They  only  want  a  little 
assistance.  Their  senses  a-re  all  alive  and  awake  ; 
their  observing  faculties  are  at  their  appointed 
work.  The  difficulty  is,  there  are  so  many  new 
things  all  about  in  this  freshly  entered  world, 
that  they  do  not  work  long  enough  on  one  piece 
of  matter ;  they  are  not  thorough.  Now,  what 
these  little  candidates  for  purchases  and  house- 
keeping want  is  your  help  and  companionship  at 
inspection.  How  much  can  be  learned  of  real 
substantial  knowledge,  even  before  the  child 
shall  arrive  at  the  school-going  age  !  Without 
any  help  at  all,  except  his  own  keen  senses  or 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  149 

the  eager  perceptives  behind  them,  he  becomes 
marvellously  knowing  at  four  or  five  years  of 
age.  Now,  amid  all  your  gettings  of  new 
tilings,  what  a  constant  opportunity  is  there  for 
him  to  get  an  understanding  of  them,  if  you 
will  but  stop  to  show  him  !  What  ample  time  is 
there  during  the  three  meals  a  day,  at  the  table, 
for  the  inspection  of  things  in  use  thereupon, 
arid  for  talk  about  things  which  have  been  seen 
otherwhere !  Indeed,  friends,  you  may  take  your 
children  along  through  your  whole  house-world, 
and  over  and  over  again,  searching  every  thing 
as  thoroughly  as  air,  light,  and  heat  search  them, 
by  the  time  the}7  shall  come  to  the  edge  of  their 
youthful  years.  Even  a  seven-year-old  errand- 
doer  would  have  something  like  a  mature  judg- 
ment as  to  the  poor,  the  better,  and  the  best,  at 
the  store  where  he  carries  your  cents,  dimes, 
and  quarters,  to  bring  you  back,  as  you  hope, 
the  best  thing  to  be  had  for  the  money.  You 
would  find,  I  can  affirm  without  fear  of  contra- 
diction, the  immortal  adage  to  be  true,  even  of 
a  child,  that  "knowledge  is  power,"  —  power 
over  a  store-keeper  or  any  other  money-maker. 
Just  try  the  plan  at  once,  my  friends,  and  be 
convinced.  You  will  then  have  something  to 
talk  about  with  your  children,  not  so  much  to 


150  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

grumble  about,  and  not  so  much  time  for  grum- 
bling. Finally,  when  you  shall  have  thoroughly 
proved  the  value  and  the  pleasure  of  this  thing, 
—  learning  in  the  home  seminary,  —  then  try  all 
your  influence  for  a  change  in  the  school.  Both 
institutions  earnestly  working  together,  be  as- 
sured that  all  sorts  of  producers  would  have  to 
go  ahead  toward  pefection,  and  trade  would  be 
compelled  to  be  honest.  Adulteration,  that  vile 
deceiver,  that  sometimes  awful  poisoner,  would 
be  cornered,  starved  out,  and  have  to  give  up. 
Old  and  mighty  Sham,  as  was  intimated  before, 
would  have  to  abdicate,  and  his  line  would  per- 
ish. 

Much  more  is  yet  to  be  said  about  the  investi- 
gation of  material  things.  It  has  happened  to 
be  convenient  to  present  the  subject  just  now  in 
one  respect,  —  that  of  quality  and  comparative 
fitness  for  uses,  —  a  sort  of  profit-and-loss  view 
of  the  matter.  I  shall  now  take  up  this  object- 
study  somewhat  methodically,  and  in  various 
relations.  All,  however,  will  have  a  bearing, 
more  or  less,  on  practical  utility. 

INFANTILE    ACTIVITY. 

The  exercise  of  the  observing  faculties  —  ob- 
ject-study—  begins  in  early  infancy,  prompted 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  151 

by  the  inborn  instincts.  Some  hints  appertain- 
ing to  this  tenderest  age  may  be  of  benefit :  so 
they  are  here  given  intermediately  as  we  pass 
along. 

Set  it  down,  friends,  as  a  fact,  that  your  chil- 
dren want  things  substantial,  and  palpable  to  the 
senses,  from  the  time  they  are  put  on  the  floor, 
from  the  mother's  lap.  They  must  have  them 
at  first,  or  nothing.  Let  them,  therefore,  have 
what  they  want  ;  but  it  must  be  judiciously 
and  properly.  The  infant  is  pleased  with  that 
which  he  can  grasp,  and  shake  about,  and 
put  to  his  mouth.  But  do  not,  like  some  ig- 
norant parents,  give  him  what  may  be  hurtful, 
—  a  painted  toy,  for  instance  ;  so  that  he  shall 
be  in  danger  of  sucking  the  paint,  and  of  being 
poisoned  :  for  the  taste  is  one  of  the  first  ave- 
nues to  infantile  knowledge  and  enjoyment,  and 
there  is  a  sucking  instinct.  Put  into  his  hands 
little  hard  things  of  different  shapes,  and  made 
of  ivory,  or  some  other  clean,  firm  substance, 
which  may  be  found  perhaps  at  the  toy-shop ; 
or  things  of  solid  wood,  which  you  can  carve 
out  yourself.  When  he  shall  fairly  get  upon 
the  floor,  there  to  be  seated  like  a  monarch  on 
his  throne,  or  to  move  about  like  a  mechanic  in 
his  shop,  provide  him  with  little  blocks,  and  other 


152  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF    THE 

manageable  things,  to  pile  up  and  toss  about. 
When  he  shall  be  old  enough  to  try  any  thing 
like  building  with  them,  some  one  should  show 
him  how,  and  help  his  beginning.    Few  probably 
need  this  hint ;  yet  there  are  some  too  busy  with 
work  or  amusements,  or  too  indolent,  to  stoop  a 
few  moments  to  the  incipient  constructor,  if  he 
is  not  in  the  way  of  their  feet,  or  makes  no 
disturbing   cries.      Any  thing   which    will   not 
harm  him,  and  which  he  himself  cannot  injure, 
might  be  within  his   domain   or   his  workshop. 
Pray,  have  the  good  sense  not  to  let  him  have, 
even  to  gain  a  moment's  quiet,  what  he   may 
tear  or  deface,  such  as  the  yet-unread  newspaper 
or  a  valuable  book.     lie  must  understand  that 
he  can  never  have  such  things,  at  least  unless 
there  are  those  of  the  kind  devoted  to  his  spe- 
cial use  alone.     You  will  save  a  great  deal  of 
time  and  trouble  by  firmness  in  this  matter.     In 
process  of  the  months,  he  becomes  a  traveller 
on  all-fours  about  the  room  :   he  is  in  search  of 
curiosities  and  adventures.     It  is  now  far  better 
to  keep  entirely  out  of  his  reach  tilings  he  must 
not    touch,   than    to   be   ever  anxiously   on   the 
watch,  and  perpetually  stopping,  thwarting,  and 
irritating  the  headlong  discoverer.     As  for  the 
rest  which  cannot  be  put  aside,  such  as  the  stove 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  153 

or  the  fireplace,  and  the  implements  belonging 
to  them,  just  let  him  understand,  that  it  is  your 
will,  ivhich  cannot  be  changed,  that  he  must  never 
touch  them.  If  necessary,  just  let  him  get,  un- 
der your  careful  watch,  an  uncomfortably  hot, 
but  not  a  burnt  finger  a  few  times ;  and  he  will 
perceive  why  he  must  not  go  too  far  in  that 
direction. 

SYMPATHY   WANTED. 

Enough  has  been  said  perhaps  to  indicate 
how  a  child  may  be  entertained  and  instructed 
for  the  first  year.  As  the  second  comes  on,  lie 
begins  to  run  about,  and  to  go  anywhere,  and 
get  at  every  thing;  and  you  are  put  to  your 
activity  to  keep  him  within  safe  bounds.  He 
is  perpetually  finding  new  things.  His  brain  is 
too  weak  to  be  kept  very  long  at  one  single 
object:  so  it  is  a  happy  provision,  that  curiosity 
should  carry  him  quickly  from  one  thing  to  an- 
other. Nevertheless,  let  him  hold  on  to  what 
he  has,  as  long  as  he  will ;  the  longer,  the  bet- 
ter :  for  thus  he  will  form  the  habit  of  concen- 
trated attention,  preparing  him  to  stick  to  a 
lesson  till  he  thoroughly  learns  it,  or  to  any 
other  pursuit  in  the  future  till  he  shall  have  ac- 
complished it.  By  and  by,  when  he  ?hall  dis- 


154  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

cover  some  new  and  curious  thing,  lie  will  run 
with  it  to  you  if  he  can,  or  bring  you  to  it,  to 
show  you  what  a  wonderful  discovery  he  has 
made.  He  is  a  social  being,  such  as  he  is  to  be, 
or  ought  to  be,  in  all  his  after-life.  It  is  worthy 
of  remark,  and  of  gratitude  also  to  the  good 
Creator,  how  children  want  the  presence,  the 
attention,  and  especially  the  sympathy,  of  others. 
Above  all  things,  in  gratifying  curiosity,  and 
getting  knowledge,  and  doing  their  little  play- 
work,  they  crave  sympathy.  How  this  infantile 
innocence  instructs  far-off  manhood  and  woman- 
hood, and  rebukes  solitary  and  cold  self-seeking  ! 
Your  child  wants  sympathy :  give  it  to  him  on 
the  spot.  He  will  be  satisfied  with  a  very  little. 
Do  not  turn  him  abruptly  off,  unless  the  house 
should  be  on  fire,  or  somebody  is  in  agonizing 
pain,  and  must  have  you  at  once.  Look,  as  he 
holds  up  his  new-found  treasure  :  look  !  perhaps 
you  will  learn  something  vourself;  for  children 

*/  o    »/ 

often  find  out  interesting  items  of  knowledge 
which  their  parents  had  been  utterly  ignorant 
of  before.  Then  dismiss  the  novelty-finder  with 
a  tender  word  and  a  kind  look,  and  he  will  run 
away  as  happy  as  ever  Agassiz  was  after  having 
discovered  and  lectured  about  some  new  species 
of  fish;  for  genial  science  delights  to  impart  as 
well  as  to  find. 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  155 


INDIVIDUALIZING. 

But  your  child  has  begun  to  talk :  he  calls 
things  by  name ;  that  is,  if,  in  all  patience, 
you  will  tell  him  what  the  names  are.  Now 
or  soon,  you  may  help  him  to  cultivate  into 
strength  and  acuteness  the  most  important  per- 
ceptive faculty  of  his  mind  :  it  is  the  indivi- 
dualizing faculty.  The  phrenologists  name  it 
"individuality."  All  qualities  of  material  things 
which  fit  them  for  special  uses  inhere  in  sepa- 
rate individual  objects.  Certain  qualities  are 
bunched  together,  and  thus  form  a  certain  spe- 
cies of  things.  Now,  unless  the  sense  distinctly 
detects  and  gets  hold  of  the  thing,  the  qualities 
and  uses  cannot  bo  apprehended.  So,  one  of 
the  very  first  observing  powers  put  in  action  is 
that  of  individuality.  It  is  not  some  new  qua- 
lity, but  some  new  and  distinct  object,  which 
the  child  drives  at  and  lays  hold  of;  and  then 
he  looks  for  its  properties.  Some  have  this  fac- 
ulty constitutionally  much  stronger  than  others. 
Many  a  boy  and  girl,  many  a  man  and  woman, 
go  along  the  roads  in  a  country  place,  or  the 
streets  of  a  city,  with  their  eyes  half  shut,  or 
gazing  about  with  a  vacant  stare,  or  fastened 
straightforward  upon  nothing.  Others  observe 


156  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

every  thing,  and  gain  knowledge  at  every  step 
and  at  every  turn  of  the  eye.  Such  being  the 
constitutional  differences  in  children,  it  will  be 
well  for  parents  to  attend  earl}-  to  this  matter. 
Perhaps  they  themselves  are  deficient  in  this 
individualizing  ability,  and  it  is  time  that  they 
should  make  up  the  deficiency. 

THE    OBJECT-GAME. 

As  a  mutual  benefit,  and  pleasure  indeed,  let 
parent  and  child  have  a  sort  of  game  at  finding 
objects.  It  may  be  called  "  the  thing-game,"  or, 
if  you  please,  "  the  object-game."  The  wall, 
ceiling,  window,  floor,  carpet,  table,  chairs,  and 
so  on,  will  probably  first  strike  attention,  and  be 
named.  Soon,  all  the  prominent  objects  of  the 
room  will  be  exhausted.  Then  there  will  be  a 
scramble  for  something  more.  Objects  will  be 
discovered  which  otherwise  would  not  have  met 
the  eye,  or  have  been  thought  of.  The  head  of 
a  nail,  a  shred  of  cloth,  the  minutest  thread,  or 
any  particle  of  matter;  a  spot  or  mark  on  the 
furniture  or  Avail,  or  any  thing  else  ;  any  thing 
which  ma}*  bear  a  name,  —  will  be  detected  one 
after  another  :  and  he  is  the  victor  who  shall 
find  the  minutest  and  most  out-of-the-way  thing 
to  which  may  be  put  a  name,  and  the  last  thing  to 


OIJSERVING    FACULTIES.  157 

be  found.  At  another  lime,  the  same  game 
may  be  played  with  objects  in  the  yard,  or  any- 
where around  the  house,  or  as  far  away  as  the 
sight  can  reach  from  door  or  window.  Differ- 
ent apartments  in  the  house  may  be  made  the 
scene  of  the  game.  If  the  time  be  the  dark 
evening  or  a  winter's  cold  day,  let  the  trial  be, 
who  shall  call  to  recollection  the  most  objects  in 
some  other  room  in  the  house,  or  in  the  more 
distant  shed  or  barn.  What  an  inventory  will 
thus  be  made  of  the  implements  and  various 
goods  of  the  household  !  You  might  go  farther, 
and  call  to  recollection  what  may  have  been 
noticed  in  a  neighbor's  domicile,  or  anywhere 
else.  Thus,  in  mere  exciting  pastime,  you  will 
develop  in  your  child  and  in  yourselves  the 
central  and  most  important  faculty  of  the  intel- 
lect. You  will  all  be  trained  to  keep  your  eyes 
open,  to  look,  to  see,  and  to  separate  one  thing 
from  another ;  and  thus  to  obtain  knowledge  of 
new  and  distinct  things  wherever  you  go.  How 
keen  at  catching  objects  at  a  glance  will  you 
become,  if  you  only  try  !  You  know  how  the 
sailor  will  discover  a  ship  at  the  distant  horizon 
when  it  seems  but  a  speck,  but  which  the  undis- 
ciplined passenger  could  not  possibly  perceive. 
It  is  because  he  has  been  for  years  searching 


158  THE   DISCIPLINE   OP   THE 

the  ocean's  surface  for  any  object  which  may 
break  the  blank  uniformity,  and  especially  for 
his  eye's  love,  —  a  sail.  His  success  at  such 
perception  is  a  matter  of  discipline  and  use. 
Just  so  the  sight  of  children  might  be  trained 
to  acuteness  of  observation  among  the  objects 
on  the  land,  if  parents  would  set  themselves  and 
their  children  about  it.  Of  course,  as  was  inti- 
mated before,  there  will  be  differences  in  accom- 
plishment according  to  differences  in  organic 
constitution. 

QUALITIES:  FORM. 

•  Next,  after  individualizing  the  world  of  mat- 
ter around,  comes  the  learning  of  the  forms  of 
things.  These  forms  can  be  seen  by  the  eye  in 
the  light,  —  can  be  felt  by  the  hand  in  the  dark : 
they  are  the  subjects  of  two  senses.  Soon  will 
the  child  learn  the  ideas  and  the  names,  — • 
long  and  short,  square  and  round.  Indeed, 
you  may  cheaply  provide  blocks  exhibiting  all 
the  various  geometrical  figures  ;  and  the  child 
in  due  time  (for  I  would  force  nothing)  might 
learn  the  various  geometrical  names.  At  his 
impressible  age,  it  will  be  as  easy  for  him  to 
fasten  on  his  memory  a  scientific  term  as  any 
other  word,  if  there  is  uiry  a  real  visible  object 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  159 

under  it.  How  easily,  then,  will  he  learn  whe- 
ther any  object  his  sense  falls  on  is  most  like  a 
square,  triangle,  cube,  parallelogram,  sphere, 
cone,  pyramid,  or  any  thing  else  !  I  need  not 
here  run  through  tlie  several  geometrical  figures 
and  names.  You  may  easily  get  a  book,  and 
look  at  them  ;  and  the  advantage  to  yourselves 
and  children  will  amply  repay  the  trouble. 

SIZE   AND   MEASUREMENT. 

To  proceed  with  qualities :  next  comes  the 
size  of  things.  The  child  soon  perceives  this, 
without  your  telling  him  that  one  object  is 
larger  or  smaller  than  another.  All  he  wants 
from  you  are  words  to  designate  differences  in 
dimension.  Yes  :  he  does  want,  or  rather  need, 
something  else.  He  needs  training  to  accuracy 
in  discriminating  the  size  and  bulk  of  different 
things.  Let  him  then  have,  when  he  shall  be 
old  enough,  a  two-foot  rule  such  as  carpenters 
use,  or  the  household  yard-stick,  marked  off  into 
feet  and  inches ;  and  set  him  to  measuring  ob- 
jects,—  whatever  or  wherever  he  pleases,  bating 
all  harm.  He  can  find  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  floor;  the  length,  width,  and  height  of 
furniture.  Indeed,  have  him  measure  the  di- 
mensions of  any  thing  he  may  put  his  rule 


160  THE   DISCIPLINE    OF   THE 

against,  within  or  around  tlic  house.  When  he 
shall  be  old  enough,  furnish  him  with  a  ten-foot 
pole,  or  a  rope,  or  an  iron  chain  of  longer  stretch  ; 
and,  with  this,  set  him  to  finding  the  length  and 
breadth  of  a  field,  or  the  distance  between  your 
own  house  and  the  next  neighbor's,  or  the 
school-house  or  the  church.  Thus  your  boy  is 
becoming  a  surveyor  before  he  knows  it.  This 
procedure  will  not  be  a  dry  task  to  him,  unless 
you  make  it  so :  it  will  soem  to  make  a  man  of 
him,  and  he  cannot  but  like  it.  I  see  no  impro- 
priety, moreover,  in  a  sister's  taking  a  part  in 
such  outdoor,  healthy,  and  instructive  action. 
Certainly,  all  in-door  exercises  in  such  measure- 
ments will  fall  within  the  proprieties  of  female 
life,  and  much  in  the  uses  of  it.  Why  not  make 
a  sort  of  competition  and  game  of  this  quality  of 
size?  Let  a  guess  bo  made  as  to  the  length, 
breadth,  or  height  of  any  thing;  and  then  see 
who  comes  nearest  to  the  fact  by  the  measure. 
Your  boys  and  girls  will  like  it ;  and  so  will  you, 
if  you  have  any  of  your  young  sportivcncss  still 
left  in  your  soul. 

But  some  will  inquire,  What  practical  advan- 
tage can  this  possibly  be  in  the  future  ?  It  is 
replied,  that  the  active  business  of  almost  every 
one  depends  more  or  less  on  oil-hand  and  imme- 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  1G1 

diate  decisions,  based  on  a  knowledge  of  things. 
The  farmer  does  not  often  scientifically  survey 
the  portion  of  a  field  he  intends  to  plough  up  for 
a  crop.  He  decides  on  the  quantity  through  his» 
previous  knowledge  of  comparative  proportions. 
The  more  accurately  he  can  judge  of  lengths 
and  breadths,  the  nearer  will  be  his  work  to  his 
wishes.  Oftentimes,  this  kind  of  judgment  will 
come  into  play  in  respect  to  spaces  and  dis- 
tances. Again,  in  bujing  and  selling  loads  and 
piles  of  commodities,  men  often  guess  at  the 
dimensions,  or  judge  by  the  eye,  without  defi- 
nite numerical  measurement.  He,  therefore, 
who  shall  have  the  truest  perception  of  sixe 
will  have  the  advantage.  In  the  affairs  of  a 
household,  moreover,  such  as  the  cutting  and 
repairing  of  garments  and  the  proportioning  of 
quantities  in  cookery,  the  faculty  of  size  comes 
into  most  useful  requisition.  "NVhy,  therefore, 
shall  it  not  be  assiduously  developed  from  early 
life  onward,  to  the  saving  of  work,  time,  money, 
and  comfort,  quite  worth  the  while,  take  the  life 
through  ? 

WEIGHT. 

Now  comes  the  quality  of  weight.     In  a  most 
incidental,  unlesson-like,  and  playful  way,  you 
11 


162  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

can  teach  your  child,  boy  or  girl,  the  difference 
between  one  thing  and  another  as  to  weight. 
Let  him  lift  first  one  object,  and  then  another ; 
*o  that  he  may  perceive  the  difference  in  the 
pressure  upon  his  hands.  You  can  tell  him, 
that  this  pressure  is  weight,  and  that  one  thing 
weighs  more  than  another.  He  will  learn,  too, 
that  the  difference,  in  different  kinds  of  things, 
does  not  depend  on  size.  In  due  time,  you  can 
show  him  what  it  does 'depend  on.  Provide 
some  scales.  These  will  not  cost  more  than  a 
few  cigars,  or  any  other  luxury  which  you  ex- 
haust in  the  using,  or  some  little  piece  of  finery 
quickly  worn  out ;  but  the  scales  will  last  for 
years,  and  outweigh  their  own  price  a  thousand 
times  over  in  this  educational  usefulness.  With 
these  let  him  weigh  all  the  various  commodities 
proper  to  be  put  into  them.  Do  not  make  a  task 
of  the  matter,  but  rather  a  pastime,  which  you 
may  join  in  yourselves.  In  the  first  place,  have 
each  one  present  take  the  commodity  in  hand, 
and  lift  it  up  and  down,  and  guess  how  much  it 
weighs,  or  rather  try  to  form  an  accurate  judg- 
ment about  it.  Then  put  it  into  the  scale,  and 
see  who  comes  nearest  to  the  fact.  Thus  the 
little  company,  parents  and  children,  have  not 
only  entertainment,  but  gain  knowledge  j  and  a 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  163 

special  faculty  is  disciplined  for  future  and  valu- 
able use  in  the  affairs  of  life.  It  would  be  easy 
to  show  the  special  application  of  this  training 
to  practical  purposes,  as  in  the  case  of  the  other 
faculties  and  qualities.  Thinking  readers  can 
readily  illustrate  for  themselves. 

COLOR. 

There  is  a  special  faculty  likeMrise  to  observe 
color.  Such  different  properties  of  objects  as 
form  and  weight  must  certainly  require  the  use 
of  a  specific  power  :  so  also  must  color ;  for  this 
differs  from  every  other  property  in  nature. 
This  faculty  of  color  may  be  disciplined  to  mar- 
vellous acuteness  and  enjoyment,  if  pains  are 
only  taken  with  it.  Of  all  the  appearances  of 
matter,  the  child  earliest  observes  and  delights 
in  color.  It  is  the  color  of  the  fire  and  the  lamp 
which  so  early  attracts  the  infant  eye  :  so  of 
other  objects  one  after  another.  Bright  and 
dazzling  colors  are  his  joy.  As  his  age  shall 
warrant,  teach  him  the  names  of  the  various 
distinct  colors.  By  the  help  of  a  book,  if  you 
need  one,  you  may  be  somewhat  methodical  in 
your  instructions.  You  can  give  him  the  names 
of  the  three  primary  colors,  then  of  the  second- 
ary colors  ;  and,  at  length,  of  all  the  various 


164  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

colors  made  up  from  these ;  together  with  the 
many  hues,  tints,  and  tinges  which  have  names. 
Provide  patterns  of  cloth  as  copies ;  and,  from 
these,  let  the  child  get  the  idea  and  name  of  the 
distinctive  colors.  This  will  be  a  pleasant  mat- 
ter, if  you  choose  td  make  it  so.  You  may  get 
up  a  color-game,  as  you  do  with  the  other  qua- 
lities. Take  any  object  of  an  indeterminate 
color,  and  see  who  will  quickest  find  the  stand- 
ard color  which  it  most  nearly  resembles.  See 
who  shall  name  the  colors,  hues,  or  tinges,  to 
the  greatest  number  of  objects  according  to  some 
text-book.  Here  are  the  things  both  of  art  and 
of  nature,  innumerable,  all  around,  with  colors  of 
all  sorts :  what  a  source  of  entertainment  and 
discipline  for  the  special  faculty,  if  parents  will 
but  think  of  it,  and  go  at  the  work,  or  rather 
the  sport !  The  training  of  this  faculty  is  of 
singular  importance  to  those  who  have  much  to 
do  with  dry  goods,  and  especially  to  ladies  who 
are  the  principal  purchasers.  I  once  knew  a 
farmer's  wife,  the  mother  of  an  infant  boy,  and 
of  a  little  girl  perhaps  three  years  old,  at  the 
time  I  have  in  mind.  She  had  no  help  but  that 
of  her  own  hands,  and  of  this  little  bud  of  a 
maid.  Among  other  things,  she  must  make, 
mend,  and  alter  garments.  She  could  not  well 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  1G5 

run  up  stairs  to  a  closet  or  drawer  for  a  piece 
of  cloth,  whenever  she  might  want  it :  so  she 
had  all  the  various  fabrics  of  wool,  cotton,  or 
silk,  done  up  respectively  in  separate  parcels 
by  themselves.  Not  only  so,  but,  if  I  recollect 
aright,  there  was  a  subdivision  of  fabrics,  ac- 
cording to  color.  So,  when  in  her  work  the' 
mother  needed  a  particular  cloth  of  a  particular 
color,  she  sent  the  little  active  and  willing  girl 
away  up  stairs  for  it.  If  she  made  a  mistake  in 
the  selection,  she  had  to  go  back  and  forth  till 
she  got  the  right  little  roll.  The  result  was, 
that  the  child  became  exceedingly  discriminat- 
ing in  whatever  belonged  to  cloths  and  their 
colors.  She,  at  length,  manifested  remarkable 
taste  as  to  the  fitnesses  and  proprieties  of  dress. 
Her  natural  organization  might  have  been  fa- 
vorable to  such  ability.  Nevertheless,  such  an 
early  use  of  the  special  faculty  must  have 
enhanced  this  prominent  characteristic. 

NATURE. 

In  this  training  to  the  observance  and  enjoy- 
ment of  color,  you  will,  of  course,  not  omit  the 
infinite  variety  in  the  aspects  of  nature.  With 
sunshine  and  cloud,  mountains,  lowlands,  woods, 
waters,  and  other  features  of  nature,  what  a 


1G6  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

range  for  the  eye !  How  it  may  be  taught  to 
fasten  and  feast  on  distinctive  colors,  and  their 
many  lights  and  shades  ! 

FLOWERS. 

The  flowers  cannot  possibly  be  omitted ;  for 
these  are  among  the  first  things  which  attract 
a  child's  admiring  gaze.  These  will  afford 
almost  numberless  lessons  in  discriminating 
colors.  They  may  not  be  so  practically  useful 
as  the  lessons  upon  cloths ;  but  the  living  and 
wonderful  beauty  will  make  them  far  more  de- 
lightful. What  a  taste  might  be  nurtured,  what 
pleasure  secured  and  continually  enhanced,  by 
a  little  pains  !  How  easily  might  the  delighted 
mind  be  carried,  in  due  time,  from  the  charm  of 
the  flowers  into  the  rich  botanical  science  which 
lies  in  their  various  characteristics,  and  in  the 
leafy  structure  which  they  adorn ! 

Another  special  subject  of  notice  is  the  va- 
rious colors  and  hues  of  the  different  vegetable 
productions.  What  a  difference  between  one 
kind  of  grain  or  grass  and  another  !  What 
changes  of  hue  in  the  same  kind,  as  the  growth 
proceeds  !  Habituate  your  child  to  watch,  day 
after  day,  as  the  invisible  Painter  varies  the 
tints  and  tinges  and  shades.  Direct  his  eye  to 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  1G7 

all  the  appearances  presented  by  the  vegetable 
realm,  as  there  may  be  cloud  or  sunshine,  breeze 
or  calm.  Thus  training  him  to  observe  Nature 
in  all  her  many  shows,  you  may  fit  him  for  land- 
scape painting ;  at  any  rate,  you  will  prepare 
him  better  to  enjoy  the  painter's  work.  But, 
above  all,  you  will  educate  him  to  delight  in  the 
matchless  wonders  of  the  all-perfect  Hand. 

GRAINS. 

Furthermore  :  do  not  let  the  little  learner  go 
without  knowing  one  grain  from  another,  as  to 
both  stalk  and  kernel.  It  would  be  well  to  put 
each  kind  of  grain  into  a  little  box  or  transpa- 
rent vial,  for  convenient  future  observations. 
It  is  perfectly  wonderful  how  much  music  or 
mathematics,  and  many  other  things,  are  learned, 
or  rather  are  pretended  to  be  learned,  while  the 
commonest  and  most  useful  things  are  left  out 
of  the  catalogue  of  requirements.  I  once  tra- 
velled in  a  stage-coach  with  a  little  girl,  eleven 
years  old,  who  was  going  from  her  dear  home  to 
a  high-priced  fashionable  boarding-school,  fifty 
miles  away,  to  be  educated.  The  schools  close 
by  her  father's  door — and  they  were  quite  good 
schools  too  —  would  not  answer.  I  made  some 
inquiries  of  the  child  as  to  the  particulars  of 


168  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

her  course  of  instruction.  Her  studies  seemed 
to  me  very  remarkable ;  but  she  knew  so  little 
of  them,  that  she  could  make  no  remark  about 
them  herself.  We  passed  a  large  wheat-field, 
goldenly  rich  and  beautiful ;  for  it  was  just  be- 
fore the  harvest.  I  inquired  if  she  knew  what 
grain  that  was ;  and  she  had  no  more  idea  of  it 
than  she  would  have  had  of  the  vegetation  of  the 
tropics,  if  she  had  been  dropped  suddenly  down 
into  the  midst  of  it.  She  was  equally  ignorant 
of  a  great  many  other  striking  objects  and  use- 
ful things  along  the  road.  Just  so,  thousands 
of  our  young  ladies  go  to  school,  spend  money, 
tug  at  lessons,  and  learn  words,  and  yet  hardly 
know  what  their  bread  is  made  of.  At  least, 
they  know  not  much  about  industrious  Nature's 
primal  and  indispensable  factory  out  in  the 
fields. 

TREES. 

A  word  more  about  another  kind  of  produc- 
tion. Your  child  learns,  doubtless,  very  early, 
which  is  the  apple  or  pear  or  peach  or  plum 
tree,  —  and  how  each  looks,  if  such  be  near 
by ;  and  can  also  tell  the  elms  from  the  maples 
standing,  it  may  be,  at  the  door  or  along  the 
street.  But  it  is  possible,  unless  you  take  some 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  1G9 

little  pains,  —  and  certainly  if  you  put  him 
into  the  school-prison  early,  and  there  keep 
him,  —  that  he  will  not  advance  much  further 
in  his  knowledge  of  trees.  There  is  many  a 
boy  who  grows  up  without  being  able  to  name 
the  trees  in  a  neighboring  wood ;  and  of  quali- 
ties he  is  very  much  more  ignorant  still.  As  to 
girls,  the  majority  know  next  to  nothing  about 
these  magnificent  monarchs  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom.  They  lift  themselves  all  alive  out  of 
the  ground,  and  stretch  out  their  leafy  scep- 
tres, and  wear  their  foliaged  crowns,  and  there 
tower,  —  waiting  to  be  looked  at,  admired,  and 
studied  ;  and  yet,  with  all  their  beauty  and  state- 
liness,  how  unrecognized  they  remain  !  Xow, 
friends,  parental  readers,  let  it  not  be  so  with 
your  children,  whether  sons  or  daughters,  if  you 
would  have  them  truly  educated.  Turn  their 
attention  to  the  difference,  in  form  and  general 
appearance,  between  one  species  of  tree  and  an- 
other. They  will  most  readily  learn  the  names. 
Show  them  clearly  the  different  parts  of  the 
tree,  and  teach  them  the  words  designating 
each  part.  According  as  the  age  permits,  you 
can  have  much  conversation  with  them  on  the 
philosophy  of  its  growth  and  nature.  I  was 
once  walking  on  a  farm  with  the  owner's  little 


170  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

boy,  five  years  of  age  ;  and  he  pointed  out  to 
my  unnoticing  sight,  with  a  keen  eye  and  the 
zest  of  a  naturalist,  a  peculiar  characteristic  of 
a  great  oak  near  which  we  passed.  That  father, 
I  found,  made  it  a  pastime  to  show  his  child 
the  things  of  nature,  and  to  make  explanations 
about  them  ;  and  I  am  very  sure  it  was  a  pas- 
time to  my  little  companion  and  instructor. 

But  to  proceed:  take  the  little  learner  into 
the  woods,  and  see  what  new  trees  you  can  find 
there,  and  help  him  to  a  knowledge  of  these. 
If  you  are  ignorant  yourself,  become  his  fellow- 
learner. 

LEAVES. 

One  thing,  in  particular,  might  be  done  to 
improve  the  observing  powers  in  minuteness, 
and  to  prepare  entertainment  for  the  future. 
The  leaf  of  one  species  of  tree  differs  from  that 
of  another.  Now,  let  the  exact  difference  be 
noticed,  and  at  length  fixed  in  the  memory. 
Let  a  number  of  leaves  be  culled  from  each 
tree,  and  thoroughly  dried  by  pressure  in  a 
book;  then  when  all  the  foliage  has  fallen  under 
the  cold,  and  the  inclement  winter  has  come, 
what  fun,  and  instruction  too,  can  you  and  your 
children  have  with  the  leaves  !  You  can  make 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  171 

it  a  pleasant  game  to  see  who  shall  best  tell  the 
name  of  the  tree  to  which  each  kind  of  leaf 
belonged.  It  may  take  several  games  to  asso- 
ciate some  twenty  or  thirty  of  these  little 
things,  so  variously  shaped  and  notched,  each 
with  the  name  of  its  parent  of  the  pasture  or 
forest.  Then,  when  the  next  vegetative  season 
shall  arrive,  how  sharp  the  young  eyes  will  be 
after  the  different  kinds  of  trees,  each  with 
its  differently  shaped  foliage  !  The  leaves  of 
shrubs,  plants,  grains,  and  grasses  might  also 
be  prepared  in  the  same  way  for  the  winter's 
amusement  and  instruction.  It  would  be  a  good 
plan,  moreover,  to  provide  little  pieces  of  all 
sorts  of  wood ;  letting  a  portion  of  the  bark 
remain  as  one  of  the  distinctive  marks.  Thus 
the  child  and  yourselves,  companions  as  docile 
as  he,  will  learn  the  difference  between  the 
color,  fibre,  and  strength  of  one  species  of  wood 
and  those  qualities  in  another  species.  He  will 
come  to  know  the  kind  of  wood  from  its  internal 
look,  as  well  as  from  its  external,  with  which  he 
began.  By  this  inspection,  he  will  be  gradually 
acquainting  himself  with  all  the  various  sorts  of 
timber  which  in  after-life  he  may  have  to  do 
with,  either  as  a  manufacturer  or  a  purchaser. 
As  things  have  been,  this  valuable  knowledge 


172  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

has  been  left  to  a  life-long  experience  of  mis- 
takes and  losses,  mingled  in  with  whatever 
successes  may  have  come. 

MINERALS. 

Still  further :  you  may  lead  your  young  looker 
into  the  mineral  kingdom,  and  find  many  trea- 
sures there,  before  saying  any  thing  about  mine- 
ralogy. You  may,  however,  give  the  term,  if 
you  please  ;  and  he  will  remember  and  like  it  at 
his  age,  as  well  as  any  other  word.  You  may 
incidentally  teach  him  mineralogical  terms  :  only 
be  sure  to  have  them  stand  for  visible  and  real 
objects.  What  makes  children  dislike  these 
matters  is  the  taking  the  life  out  of  them,  if 
they  have  any,  by  a  hard  lesson-task,  without 
any  intelligible  explanation.  In  the  first  place, 
you  can  easily  have  at  hand,  for  illustration, 
specimens  of  the  several  metals  in  common  use ; 
such  as  iron,  lead,  copper,  silver,  goM,  and  other 
metals  ;  and  also  their  various  combinations.  Let 
the  differences,  uses,  and  comparative  values  of 
these  substances  be  shown,  together  with  their 
original  locations  and  conditions  in  the  earth. 
How  very  much  you  might  communicate,  from 
time  to  time,  about  these  minerals ;  storing  trea- 
sures in  the  mind  richer  and  more  lasting  than 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  173 

the  precious  metals  themselves  1  Again :  have 
your  child  hunt  for  rocks  which  are  peculiar  for 
size,  shape,  color,  streaks,  spots,  or  mossy  pic- 
tures. Show  him  the  different  layers  of  earth, 
disclosed  by  a  cut  through  a  hill  where  a  road 
passes,  or  in  a  river's  bank.  He  has  eyes,  as 
well  as  a  farmer,  to  notice  how  the  productive 
soils  differ  from  each  other,  and  also  from  the 
barren  strata  beneath.  Thus,  from  this  early 
date  onward,  he  will  obtain  that  knowledge  of 
land  which  is  all-important  to  the  agriculturist, 
and  indeed  is  useful  to  any  one  who  cultivates 
but  a  little  patch  of  a  garden.  You  may  have  a 
game  together  to  see  who  shall  find  the  greatest 
number  of  curious  stones.  Or,  if  you  are  at  the 
water-side,  try  who  shall  be  most  successful  in 
spying  out  beautiful  pebbles.  This  slight  be- 
ginning in  mineralogical  science  may  possibly 
lead  to  a  zealous  and  thorough  continuance. 
Many  years  ago,  some  crystals  embedded  in  a 
lump  of  iron  ore  were  pointed  out  to  a  youth. 
He  was  so  surprised  at  their  regularity  and 
beauty,  and  with  the  fact  that  they  had  been 
hidden  for  ages  in  that  entirely  different  and 
shapeless  mass  of  matter,  that  his  eyes  were 
afterward  put  on  the  watch  for  similar  things. 
This  trivial  circumstance  first  jrave  the  start  to 


174  THE  DISCIPLINE   OP  THE 

one  of  the  most  distinguished  mineralogists  of 
our  country,  and  the  author  of  valuable  treatises 
on  the  science.  Now,  if  your  boy  shall  not 
become  eminent,  he  may,  by  your  aid,  become 
a  minute  observer  of  mineral  substances.  Ever 
afterward,  his  eye  will  be  sharper  to  detect 
them,  and  his  travelling  be  made  interesting  by 
bowlders  in  the  pastures,  stones  by  the  wayside, 
or  even  gravel  rattling  beneath  his  carriage- 
wheels  in  the  road. 

It  will  be  well  to  help  your  little  fellow- 
rambler  to  begin  a  mineralogical  cabinet,  al- 
though this  may  seem  too  grand  a  phrase  for 
the  occasion.  The  rudest  boards,  and  the 
lad's  collection  of  curious  pebbles  or  coarser 
stones  to  put  upon  them,  will  suffice  to  com- 
mence with,  if  there  shall  be  nothing  better. 
The  very  fact,  that  a  particular  depository  has 
been  prepared  for  such  things,  will  induce  effort 
to  fill  it  up.  Great  pleasure,  perhaps  great 
usefulness,  may  grow  in  the  future  from  this 
humble  beginning.  Should  it  be  so,  your  son 
will  thank  you  a  thousand  times  for  this  first 
setting-out  in  the  science  which  he  got  from  a 
loving  parent. 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  175 


ANIMALS. 

If  the  very  ground  beneath  the  feet  can  be 
made  to  yield  so  much  to  the  early  mind,  how 
much  more  the  living  creatures  which  move 
above  it  1  How  delighted  even  infants  are 
with  the  pictures  of  animals  !  What  a  marvel, 
then,  are  the  substantial  animate  creatures  them- 
selves !  These  move  about,  and  have  a  purpose 
in  moving,  as  has  the  child  himself.  They  do 
something,  and  there  is  a  sort  of  wonder  what 
they  will  do  next.  The  household  dog  and  cat 
are  favorites,  and  the  animals  about  the  yard 
and  barn  are  objects  of  interest,  —  all  this  before 
much  instruction  can  be  given.  Nature  is  get- 
ting the  pupil  ready.  In  due  season,  and  soon 
will  this  come  to  most,  how  much  may  be  taught 
concerning  the  distinctive  natures  and  habits  of 
these  tenants  of  the  homestead  !  But  the  wider 
animal  kingdom  —  curiosity  cannot  reach  the  end 
of  this ;  but  it  can  delightedly  travel  on  and  on, 
if  instruction  will  only  lead  it  forward  a  little. 
The  birds,  which  make  the  spring  so  gladsome 
and  the  summer  fields  and  groves  so  all  alive, 
have  specific  forms,  colors,  notes,  habits,  histo- 
ries. Now,  the  boys  and  girls  might  become 


176  THE   DISCIPLINE    OF   THE 

knowing  and  acute  in  these  various  matters, 
just  as  well  as  to  be  so  sharp-eyed  after  birds' 
nests,  as  most  of  them  are.  Indeed,  young  peo- 
ple in  the  country,  if  parents  and  teachers  would 
only  look  to  it,  might  make  no  small  progress  in 
ornithology  before  the  customary  school-years 
should  be  over.  As  for  the  larger  four-footed 
creatures,  there  is  not  much  chance  at  them, 
except  through  the  happening  of  a  menagerie 
or  a  wilderness.  Some  of  the  smaller  quadru- 
peds, however,  are  within  easy  reach.  The 
nimble,  chirruping  squirrel  has  several  habits  of 
his  own.  The  opening  curiosity  would  be  just 
as  ready  to  learn  about  these  as  to  watch  his 
freakish  motions.  Even  rat  and  mouse  might 
be  made  something  of  scientifically.  Perhaps, 
if  the  truth  were  known  of  the  skulks,  they 
would  seem  very  much  less  offensive.  Even 
snakes  and  worms  might  also  have  a  better 
repute  with  the  associations.  Let  us  save  our 
children  from  a  life-long  disgust,  if  we  can. 

INSECT    CURIOSITIES. 

There  is  another  division  of  the  animal  king- 
dom which  spreads  all  around  the  home  in  every 
direction,  —  that  of  insects.  How  countless 
their  species  and  varieties  !  There  is  no  reason 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  177 

why  the  young  should  not  be  introduced  into 
considerable  acquaintance  with  the  science  of 
entomology,  and  this  without  hard  and  dry 
study.  Even  this  long  and  strange  scientific 
term  would  be  no  burden  to  the  fresh  memory, 
because  it  would  mean  something  to  it.  What 
a  trifle  would  a  microscope  cost  for  family  use  ! 
so  that,  when  any  singular  little  creature  should 
be  found,  there  might  be  a  minute  and  wonder- 
ing inspection. 

There  is  a  country  town,  one  of  the  roughest 
in  New  England,  which  was  favored  with  a  cler- 
gyman who  well  understood  the  true  methods 
of  education.  Among  other  investigations,  he 
devoted  some  of  his  leisure  to  entomology. 
Somehow,  he  inspired  the  people  of  the  whole 
town,  more  or  less,  with  his  spirit,  and  espe- 
cially the  young.  All  eyes  were  opened  and 
sharpened  to  discover  some  new  bug  or  worm 
or  butterfly ;  and  happy  was  the  little  boy  or 
girl  who  could  run  with  some  prize  of  the  kind 
to  the  minister,  receive  his  thanks,  and  get  a 
peep  through  his  microscope  at  the  wonders. 
Now,  if  one  man  could  exercise  such  an  influ- 
ence over  a  whole  town  six  miles  square,  what 
might  not  be  expected  of  young  learners,  were 
school-teachers  in  their  separate  districts,  and 
12 


178  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

parents  at  the  homestead,  all  to  get  their  percep- 
tions awakened  to  these  variously  constituted 
tribes,  amid  whose  creepings,  flyings,  buzzings, 
and  hummings  they  have  their  own  being  and 
habitation ! 

FISHES   AND   SHELLS. 

Again:  there  are  the  inhabitants  of  the  wa- 
ters. It  is  well  known  how  interesting  the  dis- 
tinguished ichthyologist,  Agassiz,  can  make  a 
lecture  or  an  incidental  talk  about  fishes.  Both 
older  and  younger  hang  delighted  on  his  de- 
scriptions of  the  finny  creatures,  hardly  thought 
of  before,  excepting  as  now  and  then  seen  glan- 
cing within  their  own  glassy  element,  or  as  pre- 
sented by  quite  another  sort  of  professor,  —  the 
cook.  It  is  anticipated,  that  the  time  will  come 
when  parents  will  be  so  well  informed  as  to 
show  their  children,  in  table  conversation,  that 
trout,  haddock,  and  shad  may  afford  mental  as 
well  as  bodily  nutriment.  All  that  is  needed  for 
this  purpose  is  a  little  reading,  observation,  and 
a  desire  to  be  instructive. 

Some  families  have  on  hand  a  great  variety 
of  shells.  It  would  be  a  pretty  exercise  for  the 
children,  on  a  winter's  day,  to  sort  out  these 
flowers  of  the  sea  according  to  species,  size,  or 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  179 

some  other  rule.  Tims  several  of  the  observing 
faculties  would  be  cultivated,  together  with 
pleasant  occupation. 

PHENOMENA   OF   NATURE. 

We  will  glance  again  at  the  inanimate  world. 
There  are  various  phenomena  and  processes  in 
it  which  may  be  made  interesting  and  instructive 
subjects  for  sight  and  speech.  Nature  is  pass- 
ing through  changes  and  performing  operations 
continually  all  around.  The  child  observes  many 
of  them.  When  they  first  strike  his  sense,  his 
curiosity  is  likely  to  be  aroused ;  and  he  may 
ask,  "  Why  is  this  or  that  ?  what  makes  it  do 
so?"  The  loftier  reflective  faculties  are  now 
beginning  to  operate :  they  want  to  know  the 
how,  the  why,  and  the  wherefore  of  every  thing, 
especially  of  the  changes  and  the  actions  of 
things.  The  reflective  faculty  —  the  causality 
more  than  any  other  —  prompts  to  questions. 
In  answer  to  this,  the  considerate  parent  will 
reply  and  instruct ;  but  many  a  thoughtless  or 
busy  one  will  turn  the  child  off,  and  thus  stop 
him  from  studying  lessons  and  receiving  know- 
ledge from  the  greatest  and  truest  book  in  the 
universe,  —  the  universe  itself.  Before  long,  in 
ordinary  experience,  the  child  becomes  so  en- 


180  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

lirely  accustomed  to  these  natural  phenomena, 
that  he  loses  all  curiosity  about  them,  and  asks 
no  more  questions.  Thus  millions  live  and  die 
in  the  civilized  world,  and  even  in  this  book- 
blessed  and  school-favored  land,  utterly  ignorant 
of  wonderful  processes  going  on  around  them 
all  the  time  ;  whereas,  had  the  earliest  curiosity 
been  kept  up  and  nurtured,  creation  would  have 
been  an  ever-opening  and  yet  untiring  volume. 
I  once  asked  quite  a  large  boy  what  clouds  were 
made  of.  He  replied,  "  Smoke."  He  had  seen 
with  his  own  eyes  thick  smoke  go  up  into  the 
air  from  all  the  chimneys  of  the  neighborhood ; 
and  what  could  it  possibly  do  there  but  be 
turned  into  clouds?  Nobody  had  ever  pointed 
out  to  him  the  grand  round  of  the  vapors  from 
the  ocean  and  all  the  waters  of  the  land,  up 
through  the  sky,  and  down  to  the  earth,  the 
streams,  and  the  seas  again ;  doing  all  the  world 
good  on  the  way.  Yet  that  boy  was  at  school, 
and  might  have  been  great  at  words,  remarkable 
before  his  school-committee,  and  wonderful  to 
his  parents. 

I  asked  that  young  girl  in  the  stage-coach, 
before  mentioned,  what  clouds  were ;  and  she 
replied,  "  Oh  !  they  are  great  bags  up  in  the 
sky ;  and  now  and  then  holes  get  torn,  and  down 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  181 

comes  the  rain."  This  was  all  she  seemed  to 
know  about  this  ever-varying  and  manifestly 
beneficent  part  of  nature.  But  was  she  not  at 
a  grand  boarding-school,  learning  great  words  in 
big  books,  and  at  high  expense  ?  Was  she  not 
getting  a  fashionable  education  ?  What  more 
could  the  world  ask  of  her  ? 

But  it  is  not  boys  and  girls  alone  who  are 
ignorant  of  Nature.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
grown-up  do  not  understand  her  most  common 
operations  and  appearances.  There  are  mists, 
clouds,  rain,  hail,  snow,  ice,  dew,  fire,  light,  air : 
now,  how  few  in  all  the  civilized  world  have  a 
philosophical  knowledge  of  these  phenomena  ! 
Why  is  it  so?  One  answer  may  be,  that  they 
were  not  explained  to  the  young.  Their  eyes,  at 
length,  became  accustomed  to  them,  the  newness 
passed  away,  and  curiosity  passed  away  with  it  : 
so  a  whole  lifetime  is  spent  in  ignorance  of 
changes,  combinations,  and  beneficent  results,  in 
the  wise  plans  and  works  of  the  adorable  Crea- 
tor. Could  some  such  natural  phenomenon  take 
place  but  once  in  a  hundred  years,  and  then 
be  advertised  as  a  spectacle,  there  would  be  a 
rush  of  eager  multitudes  to  behold  it,  and  a  most 
earnest  listening  to  the  scientific  explanations. 
Ah  !  what  minute  processes,  what  mighty  move 


182  THE   OBSERVING   FACULTIES. 

ments,  what  numberless  benefits,  every  moment ! 
and  how  millions  of  the  most  privileged  of  our 
race  now  live  in  the  midst,  and  see  not,  and  ask 
not  how  or  why  !  Good  parents,  you  are  en- 
treated not  to  suffer  your  own  beloved  children 
to  grow  up  with  such  deadened  curiosity  and 
contented  ignorance.  If  you  have  not  the  requi- 
site knowledge  already,  become  fellow-learners 
with  them.  A  book  or  two  for  the  purpose  can 
be  bought  for  what  you  would  spend  for  some 
transient  amusement  or  perishable  luxury.* 

The  preceding  suggestions  relate  mainly  to 
some  of  those  qualities  of  objects  which  toge- 
ther make  up  their  obviously  specific  character. 
They  have  been  extended  to  far  greater  length, 
and  into  much  more  detail,  than  was  at  first 
anticipated.  In  consequence  of  this,  there 
seems  to  be  need  of  a  pause ;  and  here  is  a  con- 
venient place  to  make  it. 


*  The  treatises  here  named  would  be  convenient:  Tnte's  "First 
Lessons  in  Philosophy,  or  Science  of  Familiar  Things;"  Wells's 
"  Science  of  Common  Things;"  Brewer's  "  Guide  to  the  Scientific 
Knowledge  of  Things  Familiar; "'  and  Peterson'  s  "  Familiar  Science, 
or  the  Scientific  Explanation  of  Common  Things." 


FURTHER   SUGGESTIONS 


THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE   OBSERVING 
FACULTIES. 


NOTE. 

THE  following  suggestions  pertain  to  a  different  class  of  quali- 
ties,—  those  which  are  not  inherent  in  substance  itself,  but  which 
are  circumstantial  and  concomitant.  These  also  are  exceedingly 
important  subjects  of  the  observing  faculties,  and  afford  occasion 
for  careful  direction  and  discipline  on  the  part  of  parents  and  other 
teachers.  Those  who  have  an  earnest  and  conscientious  interest  in 
early  and  right  mental  culture  will  proceed  without  requiring  any 
special  invitation. 


FURTHER  SUGGESTIONS. 


P  L  A  C  E. 


PLACE,  OR  GEOGRAPHY  AT  HOME. 

A  CHILD  may  begin  geography  long  before 
be  goes  to  school,  or  rather  he  may  lay  the 
sure  and  proper  foundations  for  this  science. 
When  he  shall  have  been  taught  the  points  of 
the  compass,  —  East,  West,  North,  and  South; 
then  which  side  of  the  room  the  fire  is,  which  the 
table,  and  in  which  direction  are  the  barn  and 
the  garden ;  and  when  he  shall  see  just  how  the 
land  lies  and  looks,  close  around  his  home,  —  he 
has  had  an  introduction  to  geography ;  or  has, 
in  a  small  degree,  been  prepared  for  an  intro- 
duction. A  beginning  has  been  made  according 
to  the  real  nature  of  things.  He  understands 
what  he  asks  about,  and  what  he  is  told.  All 
the  words  have  a  meaning  to  his  little  mind. 
Now,  what  you  may  do,  and  what  he  will  be 
glad  of,  is,  that  you  carry  him  on  a  little  farther 


186  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

and  still  farther  than  he  would  go,  clearly  and 
certainly,  without  your  personal  guidance.  You 
must  talk  him  along,  and  walk  him  along,  until 
you  have  together  surveyed  the  neighborhood 
all  around,  and  he  has  obtained  a  positive  know- 
ledge of  it ;  a  knowledge  which  he  feels  to  be 
his  own,  just  as  he  feels  that  a  knowledge  of 
your  door-yard  or  sitting-room  is  his  own.  For 
instance,  you  can  ask  him  in  what  direction  the 
street  runs  ;  and,  if  he  has  not  already  found 
out,  tell  him,  and  he  will  soon  know  beyond 
forgetting.  Have  him  learn  who  lives  in  the 
next  house  to  his  own  home,  on  the  right  hand 
and  on  the  left ;  who,  in  the  second,  third,  and 
fourth ;  and  so  on.  Of  course,  this  could  hardly 
be  done  in  the  brick-blocked,  heterogeueously 
neighbored  but  unneighborly  city.  Children  at 
a  very  early  age  somehow  learn  what  are  a  road, 
a  field,  a  pasture,  a  wood,  a  hill,  and  a  brook. 
Indeed,  they  quickly  become  familiar  with  most 
of  the  prominent  features  of  nature,  and  the 
words  by  which  they  are  designated.  They 
learn  much  by  the  incidental  conversation  of 
persons  around.  But  you  might,  by  a  little 
pains,  make  your  child  a  more  accurate  as  well 
as  far-reaching  observer  than  he  would  other- 
wise be.  Train  him  to  notice  every  distinct 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  187 

object  within  the  scope  of  his  eye ;  all  the  in- 
equalities of  the  surface ;  all  the  varying  tints  of 
the  vegetation,  between  the  first  tender  green 
of  the  spring  and  the  russet  of  the  autumn. 
Every  rock,  every  little  hillock  and  bush,  or 
whatever  else  may  make  a  distinctly  observable 
thing,  should  be  a  lesson  to  his  eye.  Were 
these  diminutive  traits  in  the  landscape  only 
magnified,  they  would  be  such  geographical 
features  as  might  be  noticed  in  the  big  school- 
book  ;  yet  the  fact,  that  they  are  but  insignifi- 
cant lines  and  dots  as  it  were,  does  not  make 
them  ungeographical.  If  geography,  according 
to  precise  definition,  is  a  description  of  the 
earth,  —  then,  when  these  diminutive  things 
shall  be  described  by  your  child,  he  makes  real 
geography  out  of  them ;  and  it  will  be  unspeak- 
ably more  profitable  than  the  dry,  Jiard  descrip- 
tions of  text-books,  as  they  have  generally  been 
forced  upon  poor  little  learners,  or  rather  word- 
getters.  If  a  child  be  accustomed  to  such 
minute  observation,  he  will  not,  of  course,  over- 
look the  more  prominent  marks  in  a  prospect. 
But,  in  further  commendation,  even  some  of 
these  minutiae  of  the  land's  surface  are  import- 
ant indications  to  the  eye  of  science  ;  and  would 
you  not  be  glad  to  have  your  son  look  at  nature 


188  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

with  such  an  eye  ?  Wherever  he  shall  ramble 
or  travel,  would  you  not  have  him  exercise 
a  keen,  detective  sight,  instead  of  a  vacant 
gaze? 

HOW   NOT   TO    GET   LOST. 

The  exact  understanding  of  the  points  of  the 
compass  is  practically  of  no  small  importance. 
Many  persons  most  easily  lose  the  direction, 
when  they  find  themselves  in  a  new  place.  In- 
deed there  are  those  who  are  absolutely  so 
turned  about,  that  sunrise  and  sunset  seem  to 
have  exchanged  horizons  j  and  it  takes  some 
considerable  looking-round  and  reflection  to  get 
out  of  the  bewildering  dilemma.  Did  all  roads 
run  at  right  angles  toward  East  and  West,  North 
and  South,  and  were  all  houses  built  square  upon 
them,  there  would  be  no  difficulty.  But,  trans- 
versed  and  crooked  in  all  directions  as  roads 
and  streets  have  to  be,  the  points  of  compass 
are  sometimes  hardly  found  in  a  whole  lifetime. 
Indeed  there  are  those  who,  after  a  long  residence 
in  Boston,  scarcely  know  the  direction  in  which 
runs  that  most  familiar  of  all  its  thoroughfares, 
Washington  Street;  or  which  way  exactly  the 
grand  and  far-seen  State  House  faces.  It  seems, 
then,  that  there  might  be  a  real  advantage  in 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  189 

early  and  continually  training  the  observation 
as  to  the  points  of  the  compass.  At  home,  it 
can  be  made  a  matter  altogether  incidental,  and 
cost  no  time  which  may  be  better  employed. 
Let  the  cardinal  points  be  well  fixed,  and  it  will 
be  easy  then  to  fix  in  the  child's  mind  the  direc- 
tion of  prominent  objects  between,  and  also  the 
course  of  the  streets,  roads,  and  streams. 

In  the  exercise  of  individualizing  objects  be- 
fore mentioned,  as  the  child's  understanding 
shall  advance,  it  will  be  well  to  locate  the  va- 
rious objects,  in  all  directions,  in  respect  to  the 
points  of  the  compass.  There  might  be  a  little 
emulous  pastime  about  it,  as  was  recommended 
before  in  the  culture  of  the  perceptions.  Why 
should  not  the  parents  be  at  the  pains  of  pur- 
chasing a  compass  for  this  very  purpose?  It 
would  cost  no  more  than  many  other  things 
usually  provided,  but  which  might  equally  as 
well  be  done  without.  With  this  instrument, 
every  point  of  direction  might  be  exactly  estab- 
lished. Thus  it  would  be  not  only  easy,  but  plea- 
sant and  profitable,  for  children  to  be  trained,  as 
they  grow  along  up,  to  know  the  precise  point, 
from  home  as  a  centre,  of  every  farm  and  house 
in  the  town :  or,  if  in  the  city,  of  every  promi- 
nent object  there.  So  accustomed  would  the 


190  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

young  learners  become  to  such  definite  observa- 
tions, that,  as  they  should  travel  out  to  other 
towns  now  and  then,  they  would  quite  readily 
fall  into  these  exercises ;  and  the  turnings  of  a 
road  or  the  windings  of  a  stream,  the  house  on 
a  hill,  the  village-church  spire  in  the  distance, 
might  be  made  an  additional  trial  for  this  sort 
of  judgment.  So  eventually,  wherever  they 
should  travel  through  the  country,  their  heads 
would  not  get  confused,  as  now  so  often  hap- 
pens. At  least,  sunrise  and  sunset  would  keep 
their  places,  to  their  eye,  just  as  Nature  really 
puts  them. 

JUDGING   OF   DISTANCES. 

In  this  connection,  it  may  be  well  to  say 
something  more  about  the  measure  of  spaces 
and  distances.  There  is  a  great  deficiency  in 
people's  minds  generally  as  to  accuracy  in  dis- 
tance. One  has  only  to  travel  in  the  country, 
and  inquire  of  various  people  how  far  it  is  from 
one  certain  place  to  another  certain  place,  espe- 
cially if  it  be  as  to  the  way  from  one  town  to 
another,  to  be  convinced  how  vague  are  the 
notions  of  many  persons  in  respect  to  space. 
Why  need  this  be  so,  if  parents,  at  odd  times, 
without  interfering  with  any  business,  should 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  191 

just  instruct  and  amuse  themselves  and  their 
children  in  this  matter?  If  a  father  and  son  are 
proceeding  to  a  distant  field  to  work,  or  to  any 
field,  why  not  for  once  take  a  tenfoot  pole  or  a 
measuring  chain,  and  find  out  the  exact  dis- 
tance ?  But  suppose  a  boy  is  going  of  an 
errand  to  a  neighbor's,  who  lives,  according  to 
vague  supposition,  a  quarter  or  half  a  mile  off: 
let  him  take  his  pole  or  chain,  and  get  the  exact 
measurement,  and  settle  it  for  good  and  all.  Or, 
on  some  leisure  time,  let  the  boys,  if  there  are 
more  than  one,  and  the  father  with  them,  if  lie 
pleases,  make  a  little  pastime  of  the  thing.  This 
measuring  entertainment  may  from  time  to  time 
be  extended  to  any  house,  or  any  object,  or 
through  any  distance  whatever,  according  to 
convenience.  Thus  a  judgment  about  distances 
will  be  formed,  which  will  come  frequently  into 
use  in  subsequent  life. 

EDUCATION   ON   A    HILL-TOP. 

Suppose,  now,  a  pleasant  day,  and  a  little  leisure 
at  command,  to  afford  your  children,  and  indeed 
yourselves  equally,  some  little  entertainment,  — 
perchance  instruction.  You  have  already  be- 
come acquainted,  it  may  be,  with  whatever  is 
within  view  of  home.  ,  You  have  observed  every 


192  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

house,  field,  pasture,  wood,  rock,  shrub,  gleam 
of  water.  However,  it  is  not  necessary  to  wait 
to  get  all  these  nearest  things  by  eye  and  heart. 
Now,  take  your  little  company  to  the  highest 
hill-top  you  can  conveniently  reach.  From  this 
elevation  can  be  discerned  various  prominent 
objects  in  towns  around.  Give  the  young  ob- 
servers the  names  of  these  localities,  and  just 
the  direction  in  which  they  lie.  There  are 
certain  eminences,  each  perhaps  with  a  name : 
tell  them  the  name.  There,  beneath,  are  the 
valleys  also.  Perhaps  it  may  be  known,  that  a 
considerable  river  has  its  course  through  some 
of  them,  or  at  least  some  brook  large  enough  to 
turn  the  useful  mill.  Describe  these  streams, 
well  known  to  your  larger  experience,  but  which 
the  children  cannot  discern  in  their  sunken  and 
shaded  channels.  But  they  can  see  with  the 
naked  eye,  as  well  as  you,  the  many  varied  fea- 
tures of  the  landscape  between  the  centre  where 
they  stand,  and  the  whole  horizon  round.  Xow, 
make  a  game  of  it :  see  who  can  count  the  great- 
est number  of  distinct  fields  or  pastures,  or 
separate  pieces  of  woodland,  and  the  greatest 
number  of  hills.  Indeed,  as  to  this  feature,  you 
may  let  the  eye  descend  to  the  minutest  promi- 
nences on  the  surface,  and  you  will  find  that  the 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  193 

sight  will  become  amazingly  sharp,  and  pick  up 
the  least  little  haycock  of  a  hill  at  a  distance 
which  would  not  have  been  thought  possible 
before.  Then  let  the  vision  hunt  after  valleys, 
and  any  little  dips  and  crinkles  in  the  land's 
surface,  in  the  same  manner.  There  are  cliffs 
and  rocks  and  single  trees  standing  in  open 
land,  and  houses  and  out-houses,  to  be  playfully 
sought  likewise.  Withal,  take  note  in  which 
direction  exactly  any  road  may  run,  or  valley 
wind,  or  stream  meander ;  at  what  point  of  the 
compass  any  house  or  hill  may  be  situated.  If 
there  shall  be  a  mountain  in  the  distance,  there 
will  be  something  not  only  to  fasten  the  eye, 
but  to  feed  it  with  beauty  or  lift  it  to  grandeur. 
Depend  upon  it,  my  friends,  that  you  will  give 
your  children  and  yourselves,  not  only  a  most 
entertaining  but  instructive  excursion.  The 
visit  to  the  spot  may  be  repeated  several  times, 
before  all  the  objects  of  the  expanse  shall  fall 
beneath  inspection,  or  the  lesson  or  the  pleasure 
be  exhausted.  By  and  by,  you  will  climb,  with 
your  little  company  of  observers,  some  loftier 
hill  or  the  mountain  -  top  ;  and,  from  such  a 
height,  advance  your  knowledge,  possibly,  to 
distant  States. 

13 


194  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 


THE   USE. 

Now,  let  us  consider  the  practical  advantage 
of  this  actual  observation  of  the  earth's  surface, 
and  the  various  objects,  natural  or  artificial, 
thereon  presented.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  evi- 
dent to  all,  that  the  examination  of  any  material 
thing  by  the  naked  faculties  is  better,  for  all 
possible  purposes,  than  the  reading  or  studying 
of  a  description  of  it.  It  is  safer,  certainly,  to 
see  a  farm  with  one's  own  eyes  before  purchas- 
ing it,  than  to  trust  to  any  written  description. 
The  general  who  has  actually  traversed  the 
ground  on  which  he  is  to  make  a  campaign  is 
far  better  prepared  for  its  emergencies,  than  if 
he  knew  the  field  of  operations  only  as  presented 
by  the  map.  The  same  may  be  said  of  every 
practical  concern.  The  mind  must  be  prepared 
to  comprehend  clearly  what  is  distant,  and  can- 
not be  come  at  through  the  naked  senses  by 
a  thorough  inspection  of  similar  things  within 
their  reach. 

These  intellectual  facts  have  scarcely  been 
thought  of  by  parents  and  teachers  generally 
in  this  time-consuming,  and  we  may  say  heart- 
burdening,  matter  of  education.  Now,  what  do 
children,  for  the  most  part,  see  when  they  cast 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  195 

their  eyes  upon  a  map?  Nothing  but  a  plain 
surface  of  paper,  with  black  lines  crooking  here 
and  there,  called  roads  and  rivers ;  and  little 
dots  having  the  names  of  towns  and  cities,  with 
blotches  standing  for  mountains :  and  this  is  just 
about  all.  The  brute  animals  would  take  into 
notice  about  as  much.  But  with  this  actual 
training  of  the  observing  powers,  as  has  been 
recommended,  there  would  appear  right  on  the 
map,  as  it  were,  in  definite  forms  and  colors 
seen  by  the  vivid  imagination,  real  hills,  valleys, 
streams,  roads,  every  thing  just  as  the  map  was 
intended  to  represent  them.  That  plain  paper 
surface  would  seem  moulded  into  all  the  various 
features  and  appearances  of  nature  by  that 
mind's  eye  which  had  been  studying  the  real 
earth  in  these  pleasant  family  excursions.  Thus 
geographical  language  would  be  all  filled,  and 
made  rich,  with  real  science,  —  the  earth's  facts. 
Pray,  try  the  experiment,  and  see. 


196  THE  DISCIPLINE  OP  THE 


NUMBER. 


WHERE  AND   HOW  ARITHMETIC   SHOULD   BEGIN. 

AN  early  intellectual  exercise,  as  has  been 
before  mentioned,  is  that  of  individualizing  ob- 
jects ;  the  considering  of  any  separable  portion  of 
matter  by  itself.  This  idea  of  distinct  things, 
of  individualities,  is  one  of  the  primitive  founda- 
tions of  all  knowledge ;  and  therefore  the  idea  is 
among  the  earliest  introduced  into  the  mind. 
This  exercise  of  individuality  affords  the  first 
occasion  for  the  action  of  another  faculty,  — 
that  of  number.  This,  of  course,  must  wait  till 
words  can  be  acquired,  and  be  applied  to  things. 
Quite  an  advance  is  usually  made -in  a  know- 
ledge of  things  and  their  names,  before  the  idea 
of  number  is  distinctly  apprehended,  and  its 
appropriate  terms  intelligibly  used.  Counting, 
however,  is  an  exercise  which  children  very 
early  perform.  Friends  put  them  to  it  in  some 
playful  mood,  or  to  divert  them  from  a  trifling 
grief.  They  are  asked,  perhaps,  how  many 
thumbs  they  have,  or  how  many  fingers.  In 
this  way,  or  in  some  other  as  incidental,  that 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  197 

• 

science  begins  which  reaches  up  into  the  sub- 
limest  mathematics.  It  does  not  take  long  to 
get  through  thumbs  and  fingers,  and  to  the  first 
and  all-important  waymark,  —  ten,  in  the  nume- 
rical progress.  So  far,  each  term  has  a  thing 
to  which  it  is  applied,  —  a  thing  to  be  seen  and 
felt;  but,  beyond  this,  the  majority  of  children, 
according  to  observation,  are  taught  to  use  the 
terms  abstractly,  —  to  utter  them  without  any 
reference  to  individual  and  observable  objects. 
There  are,  no  doubt,  parents  who,  in  teaching 
the  child,  are  wise  enough  to  apply,  in  a  much 
greater  extent,  the  numerals  to  substantial 
things.  Sometimes  children  themselves,  with- 
out any  hint  from  others,  will  make  the  applica- 
tion. Nevertheless,  the  majority,  I  think,  in 
their  first  acquisition  of  numerical  terms,  are 
taught  the  words  without  things,  in  the  same 
manner  as  much  of  other  education  is  conducted. 
Now,  this  need  not  be  so :  it  ought  not  to  be, 
inasmuch  as  individual  things  are  all  around, 
from  one  up  to  hundreds,  thousands,  and  mil- 
lions; and,  for  every  numerical  term,  there  may 
be  a  positive  object  on  which  to  place  the  eye. 
Thus  the  little  learner  would  clearly  apprehend, 
that  counting  is  not  merely  putting  one  new 
word  after  another,  but  is  adding  thing  to  things, 


198  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

t 

object  to  objects,  one  after  another :  it  is  making 
an  increase  of  quantities,  under  the  notice  and 
evidence  of  his  own  immediate  senses.  In 
counting,  for  instance,  articles  of  furniture  in 
the  room,  steps  in  the  stairway,  doors  and  win- 
dows in  the  house,  the  newly  started  arithmeti- 
cal faculty  has  something  real  and  firm  to  run 
along  on,  as  the  earlier  used  perceptive  powers 
have. 

In  the  object-game,  recommended  in  a  pre- 
vious section,  there  is  an  excellent  opportunity 
at  number :  for  the  game  may  be  not  only  to  see 
who  shall  quickest  find  objects  one  after  another, 
or  who  shall  come  to  the  very  last  thing  possible 
to  be  found,  but  also  who  shall  come  to  the  lar- 
.gest  number  including  these  objects ;  who  shall 
count  the  highest  in  the  game.  Besides  the 
things  in  the  house,  those  abroad  are  sufficient 
for  infinite  counting,  or  until  the  mind,  even  of 
the  adult,  might  get  utterly  tired  and  confused 
in  its  simple  and  straight-onward  task. 

THE   COUNTING-GAME. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  train  children  to  observe 
the  proportions  between  the  number  and  the 
bulk  of  things.  For  instance  :  it  will  take  about 
so  many  apples,  or  any  other  kind  of  fruit,  — 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  199 

considering  size,  —  to  fill  a .  certain  measure. 
Lot  the  precise  number  be  ascertained.  Make 
a  pleasant  thing  of  the  matter ;  and  see  who 
shall  come  nearest  to  the  fact,  in  a  guess  about 
the  measure  of  fruit  from  the  tree,  or  of  potatoes 
or  turnips  or  any  other  production  from  the 
ground.  Although  you  make  a  pastime  of  your 
guessing  and  counting,  the  judgment  thus  edu- 
cated will  be  a  circumstance  of  positive  practical 
gain  in  those  affairs  where  gain  or  loss  depends 
on  accuracy  of  judgment. 

This  counting-sport  might  be  carried  on  in 
many  ways,  and  to  an  indefinite  extent,  among 
brothers  and  sisters,  to  enliven  the  home.  But 
the  parents,  especially  the  father,  might  well, 
in  the  evening's  leisure,  take  a  part  in  these 
numerical  operations.  Agricultural  life  affords 
a  great  variety  of  instances  for  this  kind  of 
mental  action.  Indeed,  in  any  sort  of  civilized 
life,  there  must  be  purchases  of  farm-products, 
and  numerous  opportunities  for  maturing  the 
judgment  about  numbers,  quantities,  bulk,  and, 
we  may  add,  cost.  There  is  scarcely  a  family 
which  does  not  suffer  more  or  less  detriment  in 
consequence  of  poor  judgment  about  commodi- 
ties bought  and  moneys  paid.  Certainly,  the 
needed  ability  cannot  be  had,  except  by  expe- 


200  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

rience ;  and  this  experience  might  as  well  begin 
as  soon  as  nature  gets  ready  for  it,  as  to  be 
deferred  to  long  afterwards,  when  immediate 
occasion  shall  require. 

AN  ECONOMICAL   IDEA. 

One  particular  application  of  the  numerical 
faculty  is  very  easy  and  of  practical  importance, 
and  must  therefore  be  interesting  to  the  young 
learner.  Various  things  of  household  use  are 
in  sets,  consisting  of  a  definite  number.  For 
instance :  so  many  chairs  belong  to  a  room ;  or 
there  is  a  particular  number  in  a  set  of  crockery, 
of  knives  and  forks,  and  of  spoons.  The  child 
will  most  easily  count  these,  and  hold  the  num- 
ber in  memory.  This  is  a  matter  of  practical 
use ;  for,  unless  the  number  of  these  things  is 
kept  in  mind,  there  may  be  an  unheeded  loss. 
It  will  be  really  a  strengthening  of  the  charac- 
ter, and  a  positive  preparation  for  carefulness 
in  the  future,  to  give  a  daughter  quite  early  a 
specific  charge  over  these  more  losable  imple- 
ments. There  are  also  other  sets  of  things,  the 
number  of  which  might  be  obtained  and  held 
with  advantage  ;  such  as  napkins,  towels,  pillow- 
cases, sheets,  and  perhaps  other  kinds  of  furni- 
ture. By  this  application  of  the  enumerative 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  201 

ability,  you  might  early  enlist  a  daughter's  spe- 
cial interest  in  your  goods  and  their  safety. 
In  this  connection,  moreover,  she  might  be 
easily  led  to  consider  it  her  duty  to  keep  them 
all  in  their  proper  places,  in  their  proper  order, 
and  with  all  desirable  nicety.  This  care  will  be 
a  relief  to  yourself,  mother,  and  a  profitable 
discipline  to  her. 

There  is  no  reason  why  a  boy  also  might 
not  be  trained  in  this  numerical  knowledge 
as  to  household  matters.  Of  course,  he  is  ade- 
quate to  it  equally  with  a  sister ;  and,  together 
with  her,  he  is  more  particularly  under  the 
maternal  care  in  his  earlier  years.  It  is  alto- 
gether proper,  and  it  will  be  beneficial  for  him, 
to  learn  whatever  he  may,  in  company  and  in 
sympathy  with  sisters.  All  indoor  knowledge, 
however  minute,  will  the  better  qualify  him  for 
manhood  and  a  new  home  of  his  own.  Every 
man  should  have  at  least  a  general  knowledge 
of  his  own  household  affairs,  however  perfect 
the  wife  may  be  in  her  administration.  Now, 
inasmuch  as  a  boy's  home  education  ordinarily 
continues  for  some  years,  it  would  be  altogether 
easy  for  him  to  become  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  matters  belonging  to  the  domestic 
domain.  It  could  not  but  be,  in  most  cases, 


202  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

altogether  pleasant  also,  as  long  as  he  is  privi- 
leged with  such  affectionate  companionship. 

OUTDOORS. 

There  are,  however,  outdoor  concerns  in  which 
a  boy  can  exercise  numerical  accuracy  and  care 
about  sets  and  classes  of  things.  Let  him  count 
the  fowls  on  the  premises,  get  the  precise  num- 
ber in  each  flock  of  a  species,  and  have  an  eye 
that  none  are  missing.  So  also  let  him  know, 
and  keep  in  mind,  the  exact  number  of  cows, 
sheep,  and  their  young,  or  whatever  else  of  the 
domestic  animal  kind  may  pertain  to  the  home- 
stead. A  sister  also  might  very  properly  accom- 
pany him  in  sympathy  and  care ;  for  thus  her 
mind  would  be  expanded,  and, .without  any  un- 
due straining  or  task -work,  would  easily  and 
agreeably  acquire  an  initiation  into  that  outdoor 
knowledge  which  the  future  wife  eventually 
might  wish  to  have  in  the  possessions,  plans, 
and  operations  of  her  husband. 

Some  may  smile  at  this  reference  to  probable 
domestic  life ;  but  just  as  surely  as  early  habits 
of  any  kind  will  influence  the  remote  future  for 
good  or  for  evil,  so  surely  will  this  sort  of  know- 
ledge and  carefulness  effect  the  future  economi- 
cal character  of  the  woman. 


OBSERVING    FACULTIES.  203 


OWNERSHIP. 

In  this  counting  of  furniture  sets  and  of  flocks 
and  herds,  a  child's  interest  must  naturally  be 
quickened  by  the  circumstance,  that  they  be- 
long to  parents,  and  have  a  certain  use.  This 
matter  of  ownership  will  draw  the  little  heart 
toward  them.  It  would  be  quite  a  different 
affair  to  put  the  numeric  faculty  to  work  on 
stones  in  the  public  road,  or  pebbles  along  a 
water-shore.  Let  it  be  especially  considered, 
that  the  idea  of  possession  and  utility  will  be  of 
no  small  importance  to  the  incipient  arithmeti- 
cian. In  continuing,  therefore,  this  sort  of 
discipline  indefinitely  onward,  let  the  exercise 
be  as  much  as  possible  on  objects  of  property. 
Let  there  be  a  sort  of  game  to  see  who  can 
recollect  the  largest  number  of  articles,  or  sorts 
of  useful  things,  belonging  to  the  house  or  the 
premises  around,  as  they  would  not  all  be  in 
immediate  sight. 

In  this  thorough  enumeration  of  goods,  there 
is  one  practical  advantage,  which  is  certainly  of 
no  small  importance.  It  occasions  the  young 
learner  to  become  acquainted  in  detail  with  the 
various  commodities,  and  objects  of  possession, 
within  and  around  the  home.  Young  persons 


204  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

generally  have  but  a  vague  and  imperfect  know- 
ledge of  these  things.  By  this  exercise,  they 
will  get  in  mind  an  inventory  of  property,  almost 
as  if  they  were  making  an  appraisal.  They  will 
acquire  a  habit  of  exactness  as  to  what  is  pos- 
sessed. Besides,  there  will  come  indirectly 
some  notion  of  the  specific  uses  of  things :  this 
will  be  an  additional  advantage.  How  many  peo- 
ple have  a  very  confused  idea  of  their  own  pos- 
sessions !  The  confusion  reaches  and  continues 
into  their  daily  affairs  with  a  quite  injurious 
effect.  Now,  could  an  accurate  apprehension  as 
to  these  matters  of  property  be  made  a  habit  of 
the  mind  from  very  childhood,  it  would  influence 
a  whole  business  life.  It  would  certainly  be  of 
no  small  importance  in  conducting  the  concerns 
of  a  store,  especially  one  containing  all  sorts  of 
goods,  as  is  more  generally  the  case  in  the 
country. 

It  may  be  objected  to  the  plan  of  giving  chil- 
dren this  special  idea  of  property  and  ownership, 
that  it  will  make  them  think  too  much  of  mate- 
rial possessions,  and  strengthen  their  affection 
for  these  things  to  a  degree  which  in  after-life 
might  be  detrimental  to  the  character.  Such  a 
consequence  would  greatly  depend  on  the  native 
mental  constitution.  No  doubt,  some  children 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  205 

have  the  love  of  gain  so  born  with  them,  that, 
without  any  counter-influences,  these  exercises 
would  really  intensify  the  inherited  avarice. 
But  there  is  to  be  a  moral  and  religious  educa- 
tion ;  and,  if  parents  are  as  faithful  in  this  as  in 
the  discipline  pertaining  to  material  things,  any 
such  tendency  will,  in  general,  be  quite  suffi- 
ciently counteracted.  Let  it  be  understood  by 
readers,  once  for  all,  that  in  this  treatise  there 
is  intended  no  such  neglect  of  the  higher  nature 
as  will  leave  the  lower  unrestrained,  or  in  the 
least  degree  unbalanced. 

COUNTING   ON   INDEFINITELY. 

After  the  class  of  things  above  referred  to 
shall  all  have  been  gone  over,  the  exercise  may 
be  continued  on  objects  which  excite  no  inter- 
est, except  that  they  are  to  be  enumerated  one 
after  another,  each  adding  to  the  sum.  With 
the  start  which  the  young  numberer  gets  in  the 
way  suggested,  he  will  now  be  able  to  count  to 
almost  any  extent.  Let  him  push  ahead  on 
any  thing  which  comes  handiest. 

Outdoors  there  are,  for  lessons,  trees  in  the 
woods,  and  stones  in  the  walls.  In  counting 
the  trees,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  remark, 
there  will  incidentally  arise  some  knowledge  of 


206  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

species  and  their  uses.  There  must  necessarily 
be  caught  some  glimpses  of  dendrology,  to  use 
a  scientific  term ;  which,  as  long  and  hard  as  it 
seems,  a  child  would  remember  as  well  as  any 
other  word.  Indeed,  in  touching  and  individu- 
alizing the  stones  in  a  wall,  as  he  should  trip 
alongside,  what  curious  varieties  he  might  dis- 
cover !  and  thus  the  diverse  riches  of  mineralogy 
would  now  begin  to  open  on  him,  if  not  before. 
Within  doors  the  learner  may  sit  at  ease ;  and 
with  a  measure  of  corn,  beans,  or  peas,  or  the 
smaller  grains,  he  may  count  on  for  hours,  if  he 
shall  choose,  and  renew  the  operation  day  after 
day.  And  why  should  he  not,  if  there  be  time 
and  inducement  ?  He  may  as  well  do  this  at 
home  as  many  other  quite  idle  things,  or  some- 
thing at  school  called  "  education,"  but  which 
amounts  to  nothing  at  all  toward  this  end. 
Every  grain  he  touches  is  an  individual  object ; 
it  is  a  unit;  it  is  as  much  a  distinct  and  observa- 
ble object  as  if  it  were  a  mountain ;  it  goes  to 
make  up  a  sum  which  is  denominated  a  thousand 
or  a  million.  Now,  just  let  a  child,  of  adequate 
age  and  ability,  enumerate  palpable,  individual 
substances  in  this  way  ;  and  he  will  proceed,  not 
vaguely  and  confusedly,  but  clearly,  definitely, 
and  with  a  perfect  intelligence,  to  almost  any 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  207 

amount  of  numbers,  piled  up,  in  idea,  one  upon 
another.  Then,  when  he  shall  come  to  the 
examples  of  the  text -books  at  school,  what 
otherwise  would  be  empty  abstractions  will  to 
imagination  cover  and  contain,  as  it  were,  like 
clothing,  substantial  and  definite  forms.  He 
will  have  a  distinct  idea  of  numerical  quantities 
and  relations,  such  as  will  be  of  invaluable  ser- 
vice in  the  higher  mathematical  regions,  where, 
as  things  have  been,  learners  too  often  grope  in 
a  dark  and  cold  misty  expanse. 

POWER    OF   CONCENTRATION   AND    OF   INDIVIDUALITY 
IMPROVED. 

Still  other  benefits  from  our  enumerative  ex- 
ercise may  be  adduced.  It  affords  opportunity 
for  concentrating  attention.  It  would  have  the 
effect  to  bring  a  naturally  unsteady  and  wander- 
ing mind  to  act  for  a  time  continuously  in  a 
specific  direction.  This  is  no  small  matter  in 
education,  and  also  in  the  practical  affairs  of 
life. 

Again:  the  act  of  counting  one  by  one  neces- 
sarily develops,  more  or  less,  the  individualizing 
faculty.  An  object  must  be  apprehended  as  a 
distinct  unit :  it  is  individualized.  Perhaps,  in- 
deed, this  is  the  best  method  possible  of  deve- 


208  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

loping  the  central  and  leading  perceptive  power. 
The  occasion  would  be  of  special  importance  to 
a  child  whose  individuality  might  be  naturally 
weak,  as  is  often  the  case.  Such  a  person,  in 
passing  along  a  village  street,  would  have  a 
vague  idea  of  houses ;  and  this  would  be  all : 
but,  if  he  was  set  to  counting  the  houses,  each 
one  would  come,  at  least  momentarily,  into  dis- 
tinct notice,  and  in  some  degree  also  its  conco- 
mitant circumstances.  Or,  supposing  you  take 
such  a  child  to  a  store,  you  might  suggest  to 
him  to  count,  while  you  are  doing  an  errand,  all 
the  kinds  of  things  he  might  see  on  the  counter, 
shelves,  or  anywhere  else,  without  being  obtru- 
sive beyond  propriety.  Then  afterward,  let  him 
give  you  his  account,  and  you  will  find  that  his 
store-visit  has  been  quite  an  instructive  occa- 
sion. Still  further,  the  subordinate  observing 
faculties  would  be  called  into  exercise  more  or 
less  in  connection  with  individuality.  Of  course, 
as  each  object  is  enumerated  and  noticed,  its 
form,  size,  color,  place,  <tc.,  would  be  also  in 
some  degree  observed.  Thus  we  perceive  how 
a  simple  operation,  which  at  home  is  carried 
scarcely  beyond  thumbs  and  fingers,  except  in 
abstract  words,  and  which  is  pursued  at  school 
probably  never  beyond  the  numerical  balls,  may 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  209 

be  made  the  means  of  large,  various,  and  most 
profitable  discipline. 

It  is  hoped  that  enough  has  been  said  to 
show  clearly,  that  simple  counting  is  no  unim- 
portant item  in  intellectual  discipline.  Let  it 
not,  then,  be  neglected  because  it  is  not  included, 
to  the  extent  indicated,  in  the  customary  educa- 
tional programme,  or  because  there  is  no  prece- 
dent for  it  in  ordinary  experience. 

BUSINESS   ARITHMETIC. 

In  the  young  learner's  first  arithmetical  exer- 
cise, —  enumeration,  —  the  importance  of  having 
things  to  accompany  words  must  be  most  evi- 
dent to  the  reader.  But,  furthermore,  the  same 
will  hold  true  of  other  numerical  operations. 
The  purpose  of  the  ordinary  arithmetical  educa- 
tion is  to  prepare  the  student  for  the  business 
of  adult  life.  The  more,  therefore,  that  num- 
bers and  figures  directly  pertain  to  real  sub- 
stances and  to  actual  transactions,  the  more 
immediate  and  practical  will  be  their  bearing  on 
future  exigencies.  Could  exercises  in  addition, 
subtraction,  multiplication,  division,  <fcc.,  directly 
concern  commodities ;  and  could  they,  moreover, 
be  performed  right  in  their  midst,  —  there  would 

be  a  reality  and  an  interest  which  could  not  be 
14 


210  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

felt  at  the  distance  of  the  school,  and  especially 
in  such  abstract  examples  as  generally  make  the 
lessons  of  the  book.  It  is  a  common  remark 
•with  business-men,  that  they  did  not  understand 
arithmetic,  after  all  the  time  spent  on  it  at 
school,  till  they  had  occasion  to  use  it  in  their 
own  actual  affairs.  The  reason  of  this  is  very 
plain.  In  their  business,  there  are  certain  mate- 
rial substances.  If  these  are  not,  at  the  moment, 
within  sight,  they  are  before  the  mind's  eye: 
the  numerical  relations  of  these  things  are,  there- 
fore, more  distinctly  apprehended.  There  is  no 
blur  of  abstraction  about  them.  A  calculation 
must  be  made,  and  this  with  perfect  accuracy : 
no  guesswork  can  be  allowed  here.  Hence 
there  is  a  real  and  pressing  demand  on  the 
science  of  number.  The  interests,  the  feelings, 
and  the  arithmetical  operation,  all  tend  together 
toward  one  end.  Something  of  immediate  and 
practical  importance  is  to  be  accomplished.  No 
wonder,  then,  that  men  who  have  quite  forgotten 
their  schoolbook  rules,  should  now  invent  rules 
of  their  own ;  and,  as  is  sometimes  the  case, 
even  make  short  cross-cuts  to  accurate  and  pro- 
vable conclusions.  Such  is  the  testimony  of 
practical  experience. 

Now,  could  instruction  be  transferred  to  the 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  211 

store,  the  mechanic's  shop,  or  the  farm,  there  is 
no  doubt  that  arithmetic  would  be  understood 
and  appreciated  to  a  degree  which  cannot  possi- 
bly be  realized  at  the  schoolroom,  as  the  science 
is  there  more  generally  communicated.  The 
intellect  may  be,  to  some  degree,  disciplined  by 
the  abstract  lessons  there  :  they  are  better  than 
nothing.  This  discipline,  however,  falls  far  short 
of  what  would  come  from  the  demands  of  actual 
business. 

FAMILY  CIPHERING. 

But  the  school  must  remain  in  its  one  assigned 
location.  Its  exercises  are  likely  to  continue 
for  some  considerable  time  as  before,  —  abstract 
and  unreal ;  for  it  takes  a  long  while  to  improve 
text-books,  and,  we  may  add,  to  improve  some 
of  the  teachers  who  superintend  their  use. 
Now,  parents,  must  your  children  be  limited  to 
schoolbook  examples?  Must  they  remain  with 
this  hazy,  half-way  knowledge  of  arithmetic, 
until  they  also  shall  come  into  the  actual  busi- 
ness of  adult  life,  or  at  least  that  of  apprentice- 
ship? By  no  means,  if  you  will  only  take  a 
little  pains  yourselves.  You  have  had  your 
own  schooldays,  and  have  gone  through  the 
abstractions  as  your  children  are  doing  now,  and 


212  THE  DISCIPLINE   OP  THE 

probably  with  no  more  profit.  But,  since  then, 
you  have  been  putting  these  dimly  apprehended 
abstractions  to  concrete  and  positive  use.  Per- 
haps you  have  been  inventing  rules  and  methods 
of  your  own.  At  any  rate,  you  can  apply  num- 
ber and  figure  to  visible  and  palpable  commodi- 
ties, to  all  the  intents  and  purposes  of  livelihood 
and  accumulation.  Now,  it  is  just  such  an 
application  which  your  own  children  need  at 
this  very  moment,  and  which  most  probably  they 
cannot  have,  except  in  an  imperfect  degree,  at 
school.  Why,  then,  shall  they  not  have  it  at 
home,  and  under  the  instruction  of  those  whom 
they  naturally  love  better  than  any  one  outside 
the  family  circle  ?  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  sit 
down  among  them  in  the  leisure  evening,  and 
present  the  examples  of  your  own  business,  just 
such  as  you  have  worked  out  in  your  own  head, 
or  on  slate  or  paper,  at  your  need.  If  you  have 
been  long  in  life,  your  memory  must  abound  in 
instances ;  or  you  can  invent  numerous  exam- 
ples similar  to  what  really  occur.  Depend  upon 
it,  arithmetic  will  put  on  a  new  aspect  to  the 
learners,  all  the  brighter  and  all  the  more  plea- 
sant because  it  shines  out  from  a  light  reflected 
by  the  most  beloved  and  trusted  friends.  If 
you  have  not  been  called  by  your  own  affairs 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  213 

to  make  much  use  of  numbers,  and  your  own 
school  -  abstractions  —  figure  -  shadows,  as  they 
may  be  called  —  have  been  quite  forgotten,  have 
fallen  even  from  shadows  into  absolute  nothing- 
ness,—  then  you  can  become  a  fellow-learner 
with  your  children.  With  this  fresh  school- 
knowledge,  such  as  it  is,  they  can  perhaps 
instruct  you,  or  at  least  be  the  occasion  of  your 
learning.  You  can,  at  least,  mutually  assist 
each  other  in  real,  lifelike  performances  in  cal- 
culation. Your  larger  general  experience  and 
maturer  judgment  will,  of  course,  take  a  re- 
spected lead.  Home  is  the  proper  place  for 
children  in  the  evening;  but  then  there  must 
be  work  or  study,  or  some  sort  of  entertainment, 
to  make  home  agreeable,  and  worth  staying  in, 
preferably  to  any  outside  allurements.  Sup- 
pose, now,  for  once  you  try,  among  other  things, 
this  arithmetical  experiment ;  and  see  if  it  does 
not,  as  the  saying  is,  come  to  something. 

EXPLANATION. 

By  what  has  been  said,  let  it  not  be  inferred 
that  any  objection  is  intended  to  the  more  ab- 
stract exercises  in  numbers,  in  due  process  of 
an  advanced  education.  This  right  beginning 
indicates  really  no  hinderance  to  an  ascent  into 


214  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

the  veriest  sublime  of  mathematics.  Indeed,  the 
best  assurance  for  the  profoundest  attainments 
in  this  science  must  be  thoroughly  distinct  ideas 
of  material  objects  in  their  numerical  relations 
at  the  outset. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  say  that  I  have  dwelt  to 
such  extent  on  this  topic,  for  the  reason,  that, 
in  the  arithmetical  branch  of  education,  as  in 
almost  every  other,  time,  pains,  and  money  are 
spent  out  of  all  proportion  to  profitable  results. 
Boys  and  girls,  instead  of  going  straight  on,  step 
after  step,  in  clear  light  and  on  a  palpable  path, 
learning  the  world  and  its  things  as  they  really 
are,  wander,  or  rather  perhaps  are  driven,  over 
ground  without  any  certain  foot-hold,  —  a  sort 
of  ghost-land.  They  are  set  to  peer  after  and 
strike  at  flitting  images,  and  not  to  lay  hold  on 
substantial  knowledge,  which  stops  and  stays  in 
the  hand. 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  215 


ACTION. 


THE   POWER   OF  EVENTUALITY. 

IT  is  one  of  the  earliest  perceptive  functions  to 
observe  action,  to  see  what  things  do,  to  watch 
'curiously  for  what  shall  be  done  next.  No 
matter  what  it  is  that  acts  or  simply  moves :  the 
little  eyes  are  intent.  It  may  be  the  flitting  of 
a  feather  or  the  flutter  of  a  leaf.  If  the  object 
is  a  living  one,  like  the  kitten,  the  dog,  the 
horse,  or  a  bird,  how  delightedly  the  varying 
movements  are  followed !  The  comings  and 
goings  of  human  beings  still  more  strike  atten- 
tion, especially  those  of  new  forms  and  faces, 
which  may  happen  along. 

Now,  the  observing  of  movement  requires  a 
distinct  operation  of  the  intellect.  Puss  asleep 
and  perfectly  still  in  her  corner  is  a  subject  of 
notice  altogether  different  from  her  skipping 
across  the  room  and  hopping  into  some  indul- 
gent lap.  So  different  is  the  action  of  an  indi- 
vidual object  from  the  individual  itself,  that 
phrenologists  affirm  there  must  be  a  distinct 


216  THE  DISCIPLINE   OP   THE 

faculty  to  take  cognizance  of  it.  Indeed,  they 
think  they  have  discovered  a  special  organ  for 
the  purpose  in  the  brain.  This  organ,  the  physi- 
cal and  material  together,  is  denominated  Even- 
tuality. Whether  the  theory  be  true  or  not,  it 
gives  us  a  more  distinct  idea  of  the  intellect  in 
its  relation  both  to  actions  in  continuance  and 
actions  completed.  Now,  this  particular  observ- 
ing faculty  is  of  incalculable  importance  in  the 
educational  course  of  the  young.  It  needs  a 
systematic  and  thorough  discipline  as  much  as 
any  other  power. 

DIFFERENCES   IN  THE   OBSERVING   POWER. 

Parents  and  educators  have  scarcely  thought 
of  the  difference  between  one  person  and  an- 
other as  to  the  ability  of  clearly  perceiving 
actions  as  they  occur  before  the  sight.  Even 
in  the  same  family,  one  organization  will  be 
found  much  superior  to  another  as  to  this  sharp- 
sightedness  at  events.  One  particular  child 
will  be  strangely  and  habitually  unobservant  of 
incidents  around.  Ask  him  if  he  saw  such  a 
thing  done,  and  he  knows  nothing  about  it.  It 
is  as  if  he  had  been  closed  round  with  a  thick 
mist,  or  been  living  in  a  dream-world  of  his  own, 
or  had  no  eyes  at  all.  His  brother,  much 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  217 

younger  it  may  be,  catches,  at  the  same  time, 
every  passing  circumstance  as  with  a  kind  of 
appetite.  He  will  look  and  learn  at  any  rate. 
He  will  see  incidents  just  in  the  order  and  con- 
nection in  which  they  took  place,  and  he  will 
narrate  them  with  equal  exactness.  Now,  these 
differences  will  run  on  through  life,  and  charac- 
terize the  mental  operations  and  acquirements, 
and  perhaps  the  material  fortunes,  of  the  two 
relatives.  The  originally  strong  power  will 
become  stronger  through  ever-new  occasions, 
which  it  instinctively  seizes  on  just  for  its  own 
gratification.  It  will  grow  because  it  cannot 
help  growing.  On  the  other  hand,  the  defective 
perception  will  still  continue  weak  and  inade- 
quate ;  that  is,  unless  it  shall  be  developed  by 
special  training  or  by  peculiar  circumstances  of 
business  or  necessity. 

The  eventuality  of  the  majority  of  people, 
though  of  normal  and  average  strength,  is  so 
utterly  neglected  in  specific  education  as  but 
very  imperfectly  to  perform  its  office.  The 
world  is  full  of  action.  Things  inanimate  are 
in  movement,  and  produce  effects.  Living  crea- 
tures, while  awake,  are  almost  always  in  casual 
motion,  or  in  definite  procedure  to  certain  ends. 
So  thick,  so  various,  are  activities  of  one  sort 


218  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

and  another  around  the  human  being,  that  he 
cannot  possibly  notice  all  of  them.  He  observes 
only  a  part,  and  such  as  attendant  circumstances 
may  bring  to  sight.  Even  these  he  may  not 
observe  distinctly  and  accurately,  because  there 
seems  no  special  need  of  it.  He  notices,  if  he 
notices  at  all,  simply  because  he  happens  to 
look.  As  a  general  matter,  there  is  no  direct- 
ness of  attention  caused  by  any  previous  special 
discipline.  There  is,  moreover,  no  sense  of 
moral  obligation  through  which  he  shall  endea- 
vor to  know  exactly  what  takes  place  as  he 
looks.  Of  course,  if  there  is  no  call  for  particu- 
larity, why  should  the  child  or  the  youth  be 
particular?  He  will  have  no  more  reason  for  it 
than  he  would  have  in  counting  the  trees  in  the 
orchard,  or  the  stones  in  the  wall,  till  he  should 
be  put  upon  the  exercise,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
arithmetical  discipline  which  has  been  already 
advised. 

CONSEQUENCES  OF  NEGLECTED  CULTURE. 

Thus  it  is  that  a  faculty  of  incalculable  prac- 
tical importance  has  failed  in  its  office  ;  and,  like 
all  neglects  and  failures,  this  has  been  followed 
by  more  or  less  of  retribution.  To  consider  all 
the  evils  resulting  from  inaccurate  observation 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  219 

of  facts,  and  careless  statements  about  them, 
would  be  to  take  in  all  the  world  and  all  time 
since  Adam's  fall.  Words  and  figures  would 
fail  of  the  amount.  A  few  instances  will  give 
us  some  faint  idea  of  the  abounding  evil. 

A  careless  young  observer,  giving  an  account 
of  some  disorder  in  a  schoolroom,  will  make  a 
statement  quite  different  from  what  might  have 
come  from  another  witness  with  a  clear-seeing 
eye.  In  consequence,  some  poor  urchin  may 
get  an  unjust  punishment.  The  same  careless 
describer  of  the  offence,  coming  to  be  a  man,  or 
even  before  he  arrives  at  this  age,  may  be  called 
to  the  witness-stand  in  a  court  of  justice ;  and 
may  unintentionally  testify  so  wide  of  the  truth 
as  to  what  his  eyes  seemed  to  behold,  that  a 
fellow-man  may  innocently  be  subjected  to  fine, 
imprisonment,  or  even  death  on  the  gallows. 
Now,  consider  all  the  millions  of  cases,  which, 
in  all  the  world,  have  been  brought  before  ma- 
gistracies and  juries,  and  there  decided  according 
to  testimony ;  and  we  can  have  some  idea  of  the 
thousands  of  unjust  decisions,  —  unjust  because 
of  the  imperfect  perceptions  of  really  honest 
witnesses. 

Take  human  society  as  it  exists  everywhere 
around  us.  Suppose  any  city,  town,  village, 


220  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

or  even  little  neighborhood :  what  misapprehen- 
sions and  misstatements  of  facts  are  continually 
occurring!  Now  and  then,  some  base  scandal 
starts  up,  and  comes  to  an  enormous  growth. 
In  the  majority  of  such  cases,  the  story  is  not 
an  entire  fabrication.  There  has  been  some 
incident  as  a  groundwork.  But  the  eyes  of  the 
first  observer  and  reporter  of  that  incident  were 
so  inadequate  to  their  office,  that  he  gave  only 
a  part  of  the  truth,  or  added  a  trifle  to  it.  Thus 
the  error  first  sprang  into  existence ;  then,  pass- 
ing from  lip  to  lip,  it  grew  at  length  into  a  great 
fiction,  having  but  little  of  the  original  verity 
about  it.  All  this  might  happen  through  a 
mere  intellectual  defect,  without  the  least  inten- 
tion of  departure  from  the  exact  truth. 

Again :  the  mistake  might  originate  from  the 
same  incapacity  in  some  one  of  the  hearers  of 
an  affair.  It  must  be  understood,  that  those 
persons,  who  would  naturally  see  a  transac- 
tion but  imperfectly,  would  also,  from  the  same 
weakness  of  faculty,  get  imperfect  notions  in 
hearing  an  account  of  a  transaction,  even  if 
that  should  be  thoroughly  correct.  In  the  first 
place,  they  receive  but  a  dim  idea  of  an 
occurrence  as  it  comes  to  the  ear ;  then  they 
but  faintly  remember  it.  In  a  procedure  em- 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  221 

bracing  a  series  of  incidents,  some  one  item 
or  more  may  fall  out  of  memory  altogether. 
Consequently,  their  statement  of  the  case  will 
make  quite  a  different  matter.  Thus,  how- 
ever exactly  truthful  a  first  observer  and 
narrator  may  be,  hearers  will  inadvertently  re- 
ceive only  dim  and  altogether  inadequate  ideas 
of  an  affair.  In  this  way,  a  chance  auditor  of 
some  truthful  narration  may  start  a  most  egre- 
gious error  on  its  irrepressible  course  through 
the  lips  and  ears  of  a  community.  While  there 
is  but  one  original  witness,  and  he  entirely 
truthful,  there  may  be  at  length  a  hundred  hear- 
ers of  his  account,  many  of  whom  will  uninten- 
tionally repeat  it  with  more  or  less  variation 
from  the  facts  as  they  come  to  their  ears.  No 
wonder  that  falsifications  so  numerously  and  so 
universally  prevail,  when  we  consider  this  one 
simple,  unthought-of  intellectual  deficiency. 

Still,  all  the  evil  is  not  to  be  imputed  to  this 
source.  There  are  very  often  moral  perversities 
through  which  such  mistakes  are  magnified,  and 
made  far  more  operative  for  evil.  A  charac- 
teristic love  for  gossip,  together  with  peculiar 
imaginative  ability,  will  enlarge  a  trifle  into 
wonderful  magnitude,  and  diversify  it  with 
curious  forms.  But,  what  is  much  worse,  an 


222  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

uncharitable,  sensorious  disposition  will  exagge- 
rate and  blacken  little  innocent  affairs  into 
heinous  sins  or  even  enormous  crimes.  A  bad 
spirit,  with  a  big  imagination,  will  create  mon- 
sters out  of  almost  nothing.  Thus  it  is  that 
heartburnings,  broken  friendships,  and  even 
bloody  assaults  and  cruel  murders,  have  come 
to  pass  without  number.  Very  few,  as  society 
has  been  and  now  is,  go  through  life  without 
some  personal  experience  of  the  sort. 

MISTAKEN   SUBMISSION  TO   THE  EVIL. 

Such  carelessness  has  there  always  been  in 
observation  and  statement,  so  uncommon  is  per- 
fect accuracy,  that  errors  are  taken  as  a  matter 
of  course,  and  as  what  cannot  be  helped.  While 
an  individual  is  under  personal  grievance,  he 
will  complain  of  careless  eyes  and  truthless 
speech ;  but  otherwise  there  is  a  singular  indif- 
ference to  the  evil.  People  do  not  expect  the 
truth.  They  are  inured  to  falsehood,  and  let  it 
go.  No  idea  of  improvement  in  the  way  of 
education  has  occurred  probably  to  one  in  a 
thousand.  Any  moral  obliquity,  it  is  expected, 
may  possibly  be  corrected  by  Christian  influ- 
ences ;  but  any  thing  further  is  hardly  con- 
sidered within  the  range  of  reform.  Things  are 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  223 

as  they  have  been ;  and  so  must  they  continue 
to  be,  unless  supernatural  influences  shall  arrest 
their  course,  and  make  a  change. 

WHAT  A  NEW   DISCIPLINE  WOULD   DO. 

It  is  rational  to  suppose,  that  much  improve- 
ment may  be  achieved  by  simply  understanding 
the  mental  organism,  and  conforming  the  early 
discipline  to  its  conditions.  There  is  a  great 
advantage  in  good  intellectual  habits,  independ- 
ent of  moral  convictions  and  principles,  if  these 
latter  influences  on  conduct  cannot  be  had.  Let 
a  child  be  trained,  as  a  matter  of  discipline,  to 
see  and  describe  things  exactly  as  they  are ;  and 
this  habit  of  accuracy  will  continue  in  after-life, 
just  as  any  other  habit  may  continue,  entirely 
separate  from  the  thought  of  moral  obligation. 
A  person  may  be  educated  to  extraordinary 
facility  in  arithmetical  calculations :  no  moral 
element  enters  into  this  peculiar  ability.  Just 
so  it  may  be  with  the  perception  of  events. 
Could  all  the  families  of  a  neighborhood  be 
trained,  from  their  earliest  infancy  upward,  to 
see  things  precisely  as  they  are,  and  to  describe 
them  just  as  they  were  seen  ;  and  could  the 
same  discipline  be  carried  into  schools,  and  the 
pupils  there  be  trained  to  be  as  exact  in  obser- 


224  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  THE 

vation  and  description  as  they  are  trained  to  be 
exact  in  performing  arithmetical  problems,  — 
there  would  be  an  unexampled  improvement  in 
conversational  trustworthiness  and  in  neighborly 
relations.  There  would  be,  as  there  is  in  other 
things,  a  sort  of  emulative  desire  for  accuracy, 
and  perfect  truthfulness  to  fact.  A  failure  as  to 
the  precise  fact  would  lower  the  intellectual 
standing  and  reputation.  A  faulty  observer  and 
teller  of  incidents  would  be  considered  as  poorly 
educated,  like  a  blundering  reader  or  a  bad 
speller.  Could  such  a  discipline  be  carried  into 
every  family  and  every  school  of  the  country, 
there  would  be  a  national  reform.  A  whole 
people  would  be  educated  to  see  events  accu- 
rately, as  they  might  be  educated  to  survey 
correctly  and  minutely  the  geographical  features 
of  their  native  town,  as  was  recommended  in 
the  suggestions  about  place.  They  would  be 
capacitated  not  only  to  observe  actions  in  their 
progress,  but  to  apprehend  the  causes  and  the 
results  of  action  to  a  degree  beyond  all  former 
precedent.  Could  moral  and  religious  motives 
be  brought  to  bear  on  this  point  of  culture  as 
they  ought,  what  wonders  of  improvement  might 
be  accomplished  !  But  the  all-important  aid  of 
the  conscience  and  the  heart  will  be  hereafter 
considered. 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  225 


HOW  THE  DISCIPLINE  MAY  BEGIN. 

As  soon  as  a  child  shall  be  able  to  tell  his 
experiences,  it  may  easily  be  perceived  what 
native  strength  and  precision  of  eventuality  he 
may  possess.  Then,  according  to  his  lack  must 
be  the  particularity  and  assiduousness  of  his 
educators. 

Now  the  question  comes,  Where  and  how 
shall  the  necessary  training  be  commenced? 
There  need  be  no  search  after  lessons  ;  for  —  to 
use  several  of  the  appropriate  terms  —  motion, 
action,  incidents,  events,  and  facts  are  close  by, 
and  everywhere  around.  The  first  thing  that 
happens  may  be  an  exercise  of  discipline,  if  the 
child  is  old  enough  to  notice  and  give  some 
account  of  it.  Still  there  must  be  advantage  in 
system  ;  and,  for  this  reason,  one  subject  will  be 
preferable  to  another. 

Certain  transactions  are  better  suited  to  begin 
with  than  others,  which  might  be  good  for  a 
further  stage  of  progress.  It  is  one  of  the 
acknowledged  rules  of  education  to  commence 
with  what  is  best  known  or  can  be  most  easily 
known,  and  thence  proceed  to  things  more  diffi- 
cult. The  chief  requisites  are  distinctness  of 
15 


226  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

perception,  and  correctness  in  reciifil.  It  is 
important  that  the  several  parts  of  a  proceeding 
should  be  noticed  according  to  their  precise 
succession.  Those  operations  are  excellent  for 
attention  and  questioning,  at  the  outset,  in  which 
first  one  thing  is  done,  then  another,  in  necessary 
order. 

HOUSEHOLD   LESSONS. 

The  industrial  concerns  of  a  household  are  nu- 
merous and  diverse :  let  them  by  turns  become 
lessons  for  observation.  No  better  instances 
can  be  presented  to  children  than  the  goings-on 
around  them  in  ordinary  work.  They  are  inte- 
rested in  what  their  friends  do.  The  smiling 
aspect  and  kind  tones  of  invitation  will  be  all 
tnat  is  wanted  to  enlist  their  special  attention 
to  any  movement,  or  series  of  movements,  per- 
formed by  their  domestic  friends. 

But  let  us  illustrate.  Take,  for  example,  the 
setting  of  the  table  for  dinner.  There  is,  first, 
the  drawing-out  of  the  table  to  the  proper  posi- 
tion ;  second,  the  lifting  and  fastening  of  the 
leaves ;  then  the  spreading  of  the  cloth ;  and  so 
on,  —  one  performance  after  another,  till  the 
meal  is  ready,  and  the  family  are  at  knife  and 
fork.  Now,  let  the  child,  as  a  matter  of  disci- 


• 

OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  227 

pline,  exactly  describe  every  process  of  the 
table-setting  in  its  exact  order.  Let  there  be 
no  mistake  in  the  sequences,  as  perfect  accuracy 
in  this  particular  respect  is  one  of  the  benefits 
of  the  lesson.  The  same  use  may  be  made  of 
other  household  duties  in  which  there  is  a  me- 
thodical routine.  Of  course,  children,  whether 
desired  or  not,  usually  notice  these  proceedings. 
These  are  among  the  occasions  of  that  uncon- 
scious and  gradual  development  of  intellect 
which  will  go  on  without  care  or  thought  on 
the  part  of  the  little  lookers  or  their  friends. 
But,  according  to  their  native  power  of  even- 
tuality, they  may  notice  each  particular  of  a 
transaction  in  its  due  order,  or  they  may  have 
but  imperfect  perceptions  and  confused  ideas. 
The  important  point  aimed  at  is  accuracy  in 
seeing  and  telling,  as  a  settled  characteristic; 
an  ability  which  shall  prevent  no  small  harm, 
and  do  great  good,  in  that  future  which  depends 
so  much  on  early  formed  habits.  Take  mental 
constitutions  as  they  average,  and  this  perfect 
exactness  of  sight  and  speech  cannot  be  had 
without  some  special  discipline.  The  practical 
advantages  warrant  all  the  pains  which  can  pos- 
sibly be  given  to  the  subject. 


228  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  THE 


MANUFACTURING  LESSONS. 

Besides  the  various  kinds  of  orderly  work  at 
home,  the  several  divisions  of  skilled  labor,  the 
distinct  and  life-long  occupations  of  people,  will 
afford  most  valuable  exercises  in  this  sort  of 
observation. 

First,  take  those  more  simple  mechanical 
trades  which  are  common  in  every  country  vil- 
lage or  town,  and  are  mainly  carried  on  by 
hand.  In  each  one  of  these,  there  is  an  orderly 
procedure :  first,  one  thing  is  done ;  then,  an- 
other; and  so  on  through  a  course  of  work. 
Now,  let  a  child  of  adequate  age  watch  the 
processes,  and  afterward  give  an  exact  account. 
In  due  time,  have  him  visit  mills  and  factories, 
and  trace  their  more  complex  operations ;  no- 
ticing how  the  several  connected  forces  produce 
results. 

AGRICULTURAL   LESSONS. 

Educational  visits  to  the  farm  must  certainly 
not  be  omitted.  Its  affairs  are  probably  more 
numerous  and  diverse  than  those  of  any  other 
separate  productive  employment.  From  the 
first  touch  of  culture  in  the  spring  till  all 
the  harvests  are  gathered  in,  there  is  orderly, 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  229 

progressive  work.  Then,  in  the  winter,  there 
is  the  kindly  care  of  animals  in  several  daily 
processes.  There  are,  besides,  useful  but  less 
regular  doings  which  come  in  between  the  rest. 
Now,  all  these  matters,  judiciously  presented, 
would  be  exceedingly  interesting  and  instruct- 
ive to  the  fresh  perceptions  of  the  young. 
They  should  begin  their  agricultural  observa- 
tions with  the  earliest  movements  in  the  spring. 
Let  them  notice  every  distinct  kind  of  labor  in 
all  its  items,  and  these  in  their  orderly  and  pre- 
cise succession.  Then  an  account  should  be 
required  as  perfectly  exact  as  any  prescribed 
recitation  at  school. 

BENEFITS. 

All  industrial  occupations  might  afford  les- 
sons similar  to  those  indicated  above.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  particularize  any  farther.  Now,  it 
cannot  be  doubted,  that  this  peculiar  discipline 
would  be  of  inestimable  advantage  to  the  young 
as  candidates  for  life's  activities  and  uses.  No 
descriptive  books  could  equal,  or  make  up  for, 
this  positive  knowledge  caught  by  the  naked 
eye. 

One  -special  and  important  benefit  would  be 
the  obtaining  of  some  considerable  insight  into 


230  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  THE 

the  various  trades  and  pursuits  of  men.  The 
pupil  would  also  learn  something,  not  only  about 
methods  of  procedure,  but  about  the  materials 
and  implements  used.  What  is,  moreover,  of 
much  consequence,  he  would  obtain  that  know- 
ledge of  different  kinds  of  business  which  is 
really  necessary  to  develop  his  own  taste,  and 
to  form  his  judgment  in  respect  to  the  choice 
of  an  employment  for  himself.  Still  further,  he 
would  eventually  come  to  that  understanding  of 
the  various  avocations  of  men  which  is  quite 
necessary  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  their  re- 
spective and  peculiar  services.  Indeed,  such 
a  knowledge  would  lead  to  that  charity  and 
kindliness  which  is  so  much  needed,  but  is  so 
often  withheld. 

WHAT  A  FATHER  MIGHT  DO. 

It  may  be  averred,  that,  in  this  intelligent 
part  of  the  country,  most  people  have  some 
general  ideas  of  the  different  departments  of 
industry.  But  why  not  possess  a  more  tho- 
rough and  systematic  knowledge,  when  it  can 
be  so  easily  gained  ?  During  the  years  usually 
devoted  to  education,  there  might  be  obtained 
a  quite  extensive  and  comparatively  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  various  pursuits  of  life, 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  231 

and  this  without  much  that  would  seem  like  a 
task.  Nothing  would  be  necessary  but  simply 
to  take  or  make  occasions.  A  father  could 
scarcely  better  employ  a  little  respite  from  busi- 
ness, than  to  take  his  children,  as  a  pleasant 
pastime,  to  places  of  various  industrial  activity. 
A  small  portion  of  the  time  now  spent  in  school 
on  studies  unadapted  to  the  pupil's  age,  but 
faintly  understood  and  quickly  forgotten,  would 
suffice  for  the  purpose. 

NATURE'S  WORKS  AND  WAYS. 

Man's  art  and  industry  should  not  engage  the 
whole  attention.  In  the  mean  time,  let  children, 
from  the  earliest  ability,  observe  the  movements 
and  processes  of  nature.  If  they  are  capable  of 
admiring  human  inventions  and  their  effects, 
they  can  be  led  to  admire  and  study  the  wonder- 
ful machinery  by  which  the  Creator  brings  about 
results.  Some  will  see  and  reflect  considerably? 
and  ask  questions,  and  grow  in  knowledge  with 
but  little  prompting.  It  is  not  so  with  the  ma- 
jority. They  soon  become  so  accustomed  to  all 
regular  phenomena,  that  they  cease  to  think  much 
about  them.  As  for  the  more  covert  processes, 
excepting  such  as  may  unexpectedly  startle  their 
sight,  they  scarcely,  by  themselves  alone,  find 


232  THE  DISCIPLINE  OP  THE 

them  out.  Whatever  is  going  on  continually  in 
regular  successions  of  movement,  and  which  has 
been  thus  going  on  from  the  earliest  remem- 
brance, is  unheeded  by  most,  simply  because  of 
this  very  order  and  constancy.  It  is  with  people, 
as  they  grow  gradually  up,  in  respect  to  the 
mechanism  of  nature,  as  it  is  in  respect  to  the 
household  timepiece :  they  are  so  accustomed 
to  its  tick,  tick,  that  they  do  not  hear  it ;  and,  if 
they  happen  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  inner  ma- 
chinery, they  have  no  curiosity  to  study  a  struc- 
ture, which,  close  by,  has  served  their  conveni- 
ence so  well  and  so  long. 

These  faculties,  thus  admirably  fitted  to  ob- 
serve and  know,  should  not  become  so  deadened 
and  useless.  The  infinite  Designer  and  Maker 
did  not  so  intend.  The  infant  possessor  begins 
early  and  aright  to  uag  them.  His  innate  in- 
stincts, almost  as  soon  as  he  fairly  gets  his  eyes 
open,  prompt  him  to  look  and  learn.  How  intent- 
ly he  gazes  on  the  flickering  flame  or  the  waving 
tree  !  He  is  pleased  with  any  sort  of  gentle 
motion.  But  these  instincts  should  grow  into 
earnest  desires  to  look  farther  and  farther,  and 
to  learn  still  more  and  more.  All  that  is  needed 
with  most  is  easily-given  direction  and  sympathy. 
At  first,  the  child  simply  observes  movement, 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  233 

and  has  no  thought  beyond  the  impression  on  his 
sight.  But  this  observation  is  the  initiative  step 
toward  the  whole  philosophy  of  causes,  effects, 
and  uses.  This  one  perceptive  power,  eventual- 
ity, holds  the  key,  as  it  were,  to  all  natural 
science.  This  science,  in  large  degree,  consists 
in  understanding  how  the  masses  and  elements 
of  matter,  and  the  organic  forms  of  it,  act  on 
each  other,  and  what  are  the  ends  designed.  Of 
course,  the  action  must  first  be  known  before  it 
can  be  discerned  whence  it  comes,  or  to  what 
it  tends.  What  rounds,  and  ranges,  and  mazes  of 
movement  between  the  stupendous  rolling  and 
circling  of  worlds  and  the  leaping  affinities  of 
atoms  !  — an  infinitude  of  agents  and  activities ; 
millions  of  distinct  organs  and  offices  and  opera- 
tions, yet  one  connected  and  harmonious  me- 
chanism, moved  every  moment  by  one  infinite 
Power.  Now,  parent,  shall  all  this  be  no  more 
to  your  beloved  child's  curiosity  than  the  ever- 
swinging  pendulum  or  the  ceaseless  tick  of  the 
old,  convenient  clock  ? 

CASUAL    EVENTS. 

Besides  those  processes  which  take  place  in 
regular  routine,  and  which  may  be  repeatedly 
observed  by  the  learner,  and,  as  it  were,  got  by 


234  THE  DISCIPLINE  OP  THE 

heart,  there  are  other  occurrences  which  are 
fortuitous  and  unexpected.  Nothing  before  has 
been  exactly  like  them,  and  nothing  will  follow 
exactly  similar  in  the  collocation  of  all  the  seve- 
ral objects  and  circumstances.  Events  of  this 
sort  are  transpiring  every  moment.  Mankind, 
exercising  their  own  wills,  are  continually  doing 
this  and  that,  according  to  contingencies.  It  is 
such  transactions,  not  distinctly  observed,  and 
affording  no  second  opportunity  for  better  sight, 
which  occasion  those  misstatements  whence 
come  innumerable  difficulties  and  heart-burnings 
in  society.  Perfect  accuracy,  in  observing  and 
representing  these,  is  of  surpassing  importance. 
A  habit  of  being  truthful  to  facts  should  as 
early  as  possible  be  formed.  To  this  end,  no 
discipline  can  hardly  be  too  persistent  and 
thorough. 

Those  unimportant  incidents,  ever  new  and 
various,  which  are  continually  happening  within 
and  around  the  home,  present  the  most  conve- 
nient lessons  to  the  little  observer.  Of  course, 
it  is  not  necessary  that  he  shall  get  through  all 
the  methodical  processes  before  alluded  to,  even 
those  within  the  house,  before  he  may  be  put 
upon  these.  Let  it  be  an  emphatic  requirement, 
that,  in  his  account,  he  shall  omit  no  circum- 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  235 

stance,  nor  put  one  out  of  its  exact  order,  any 
more  than  he  did  in  the  case  of  the  table-setting, 
or  any  other  fixed  and  regular  proceeding.  Thus 
a  habit  will  be  formed  of  distinct  and  consecu- 
tive observation.  Besides,  in  this  way,  the 
young  mind  will  be  aided  in  acquiring  that 
ability  of  concentrated  attention  which  is  so 
important  to  success  in  either  study  or  busi- 
ness. 

If  those  casual  occurrences  which  are  in 
themselves  of  no  special  importance  shall  be 
accurately  noticed,  those  transactions  which 
make  their  mark  on  a  day  or  a  week,  or  on  the 
times,  will,  of  course,  secure  the  pupil's  close 
and  minute  attention.  There  are  those  proceed- 
ings which  may  be  not  only  a  discipline,  but  a 
rich  instruction.  Among  these  are  public  move- 
ments and  spectacles.  Some  of  them  grow  out 
of  prevalent  tastes  and  customs ;  such  as  funeral 
and  civic  processions,  ordinary  military  parades, 
and  anniversary  occasions.  Others  make  a  part 
of  the  history  of  the  times ;  such  as  the  march- 
ing of  troops  and  the  sailing  of  war-vessels,  as 
in  the  present  great  national  crisis.  Hitherto, 
no  specific  and  circumstantial  attention  to  such 
events  has  generally  been  required  as  a  part  of 
education ;  but  they  afford  lessons  of  far  greater 


236  THE  DISCIPLINE  OP  THE 

value,  if  rightly  conducted,  than  are  found  in 
the  naked,  crumb-like  facts  of  some  historical 
text-books,  which  wearily  occupy  much  time  in 
seminaries  of  learning. 

INFLUENCE  UPON  LITERATURE. 

It  is  by  no  means  intended  to  disparage  the 
study  of  well-written  history.  Indeed,  this  in- 
tent and  thorough  observation,  this  study  of  pass- 
ing affairs,  will  be  a  valuable  preparative  for  the 
study  of  history  in  the  school,  or  for  the  profit- 
able perusal  of  it  at  any  subsequent .  time.  It 
will  be  a  useful  qualification  for  any  sort  of  read- 
ing in  which  facts  are  comprised.  A  person  who, 
from  constitutional  defect,  takes  but  a  slight  or 
confused  notice  of  present  occurrences,  will  have 
but  a  slight  remembrance  of  them.  He  will 
have  a  much  more  imperfect  idea  and  remem- 
brance of  transactions  which  are  presented  only 
through  language.  The  action-noting  faculty, 
which  has  been  well  disciplined  by  what  trans- 
pires immediately  before  it,  will  be  more  readily 
impressed  by  mere  verbal  communications.  A 
narrated  occurrence  will  thus  be  more  clearly 
conceived  of:  it  will  not  seem  distant  and  dim, 
but,  as  it  were,  present  and  distinct,  to  this  parti- 
cular observing' power.  The  memory,  moreover, 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  237 

will  be  proportionally  retentive ;  for  each  intel- 
lectual faculty  is  supposed  to  have  a  memory  of 
its  own,  so  that  the  eventuality  which  is  keen  to 
perceive  is  also  strong  to  retain. 

This  exactness  in  the  knowledge  and  presenta- 
tion of  events,  as  a  matter  of  culture  and  general 
habit,  must  necessarily  have  a  most  salutary  ef- 
fect upon  the  literature  of  the  people,  both  that 
whiph  they  themselves  make  and  that  which  is 
made  for  them.  If  conversation  shall  become 
more  true  to  fact,  epistolary  communications  will 
share  the  improvement.  Gossip  by  the  pen 
will  be  reformed  as  well  as  gossip  by  the  tongue. 
But,  beyond  this,  historical  compositions  will  be 
characterized  by  more  thorough  and  satisfactory 
research.  A  public  opinion  which  has  been 
trained  up  to  the  mark  of  absolute  truth  must 
press  upon  the  responsibility  of  writers,  so  that 
history,  in  future,  shall  not  have  to  be  rewritten, 
and  the  characters  of  men  rejudged,  as  hereto- 
fore, for  the  sake  of  right  and  justice. 

Again:  with  this  better  culture  as  to  action, 
fictitious  productions,  which  now  make  so  large 
a  part  of  the  common  reading,  will  be  altogether 
more  faithful  to  nature.  No  small  portion  of  the 
novels,  and  especially  of  the  juvenile  tales,  of 
the  day,  are  poor  representations  of  human  life. 


238  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  THE 

Their  authors  seem  to  have  been  living,  from 
childhood  up,  in  an  imaginary  world.  They  have 
not  studied,  as  they  should,  nature  and  man,  in 
those  multitudinous  activities  by  which  traits 
and  qualities  are  truly  made  known.  Now,  this 
special  culture  of  eventuality  will  supply  fancy 
and  invention  with  those  truthful  materials  which 
have  hitherto  been  so  much  wanting.  Thus  the 
creations  of  genius  will  become  verisimilitudes 
of  what  has  been  actually  experienced,  or  what 
at  least  is  possible  to  man  in  view  of  the  known 
principles  of  his  being  and  his  surrounding  con- 
ditions. 

Coming  generations  will  have  this  true  litera- 
ture. When  the  whole  people  shall  be  trained 
to  an  exact  observation  of  the  real  and  moving 
world,  then  the  few  who  shall  write  for  the  people 
will  not  fail  of  that  best  discipline  and  knowledge 
which  comes  through  the  primitive  and  surest 
use  of  the  eyes. 

NEWSPAPER    REFORM. 

One  of  the  most  important  benefits  to  come 
from  eventuality,  as  it  should  be,  is  the  improve- 
ment in  newspaper  literature.  Everybody  in 
our  country,  who  can  read  at  all,  reads  the  news- 
paper. It  exerts  a  wider  and  deeper  influence 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  239 

than  any  other  emanation  from  the  press.  It 
does  unmeasured  good,  but  also  much  evil.  A 
new  appetite  has  been  engendered,  or  rather  a 
constitutional  one  intensified  tenfold.  It  is  a  ra- 
bid hunger  for  something  new ;  and,  besides 
this,  for  something  as  much  as  possible  exciting. 
The  newspaper  would  not  be  a  newspaper  unless 
it  furnished  this  new  thing.  Hence  a  competi- 
tion between  journals.  That  goes  off  best  which 
contains  the  keenest  stimulative  for  the  moment. 
Tne  slightest  rumor  is  caught  up,  and  made  the 
most  of  to-day ;  but  it  may  be  utterly  contra- 
dicted to-morrow.  No  matter :  it  serves  its  end ; 
it  satifies  the  craving.  Thus,  if  no  other  harm 
is  done,  thought  is  prevented  from  settling  down 
on  serious  and  really  important  subjects.  The 
popular  mind  is  unsettled,  and  is  kept  unsettled 
and  unstable.  There  is  especially  a  bad  effect 
upon  the  young,  who,  as  they  grow  up,  ought  to 
be  getting  their  faculties  more  and  more,  and 
continually,  into  a  condition  of  strength  and  con- 
solidation. For  thorough-going,  substantial  read- 
ing, there  is  not  time ;  and  as  for  deeper  science 
and  philosophy,  they  are  scarcely  thought  of 
after  leaving  the  school. 

Now,  should  there  be  an  education  from  the 
earliest  to  a  clear  perception  of  passing  incidents, 


240  THE  DISCIPLINE   OP  THE 

and  to  a  thoroughly  accurate  statement  of  them, 
the  young  would  come  up  into  life  with  a  habit 
of  accuracy,  and,  in  consequence,  with  a  taste 
for  it.  Vague  observation,  and  more  vague  de- 
scription, would  be  no  part  of  their  experience. 
For  such  readers,  the  newspaper  item  about 
somebody  or  something  must  have  a  ground  of 
probability.  If  such  things  shall  be  found  within 
a  day  or  a  week  utterly  false,  the  public  taste 
and  habit  will  say,  "  Away  with  them  !  nothing 
of  this ! "  Thus  journals  will  compete  with  each 
other  for  exactness  to  the  truth.  A  public  man's 
character  will  have  a  safety  not  recently  expe- 
rienced. A  distinguished  lady's  delicacy  will 
not  be  offended  by  some  false  rumor  about  her, 
as  is  now  sometimes  the  case,  published  from 
end  to  end  of  the  land.  Thousands  of  things, 
utterly  unwarranted,  will  not  be  breathed  into 
growth,  as  at  present,  by  this  hot  breath  of  desire 
for  the  new  and  exciting. 

In  this  advanced  age,  when  steam  and  tele- 
graph bring  news  from  all  quarters  of  the  world, 
sufficient  for  every  day's  entertainment,  false- 
hood will  not  be  needed.  Indeed,  there  will 
hardly  be  leisure  to  glance  along  the  abundance 
of  authenticated  facts;  and  many  of  these,  in 
this  new  and  wonder-producing  era,  may  be  quite 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  241 

as  attractive  to  curiosity  as  any  catch-penny  fabri- 
cations, or  even  the  more  innocent  scintillations 
of  genius. 

PARTISAN  CALUMNIES   CHECKED. 

But,  above  all,  the  bitter  calumnies  of  political 
partisanship  must  receive  a  wholesome  check,  if 
they  do  not  utterly  come  to  an  end.  These  are 
the  worst  concomitants  of  our  elective  govern- 
ment. These  are  the  abominations  of  the  country. 
These  too  often  thrust  our  best  men  prematurely 
into  retirement,  or  prevent  them  from  coming 
out  of  it  at  all.  As  things  are  now,  character  is 
mangled,  murdered,  in  political  warfare.  Could 
the  people  of  this  country  be  trained  to  be  faith- 
ful to  fact,  a  salutary  influence  must  be  exerted 
in  this  direction.  A  change  for  the  better  would 
be  wrought,  such  as  hitherto  has  never  been 
known  in  popular  governments.  If  absolute  fact 
be  demanded,  all  electioneering  misrepresenta- 
tions jnust  cease.  That  party  which  should  resort 
to  falsifications  must  succumb;  must  wear  writ- 
ten on  its  very  forehead,  Wrong.  Let  a  thorough 
examination  into  facts  be  the  groundwork  of 
political  opinion,  and  the  reason,  the  intelligence-, 
the  common  sense,  of  voters  would  bring  an  over- 
whelming majority  to  the  side  of  the  right  and 

16 


242  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  THE 

the  best.  The  people  would  come  to  know  who 
are  their  truly  wise,  good,  and  great  men,  and 
would  give  to  them  their  confidence.  The  peo- 
ple would  confide  also  in  each  other.  Then,  in- 
stead of  democracy,  deceived,  cheated,  degraded, 
and  made  a  byword  through  the  monarchies  of 
Europe,  there  would  be  a  democracy  like  the 
clear  shining  of  the  sun  after  the  rain,  enlighten- 
ing the  eyes,  and  warming  the  hearts,  of  the 
common  masses  all  over  the  world.  It  would  be 
like  a  great  luminary  in  the  heavens,  ascending 
towards  its  noon,  it  might  be,  but  there  to  stand 
still,  as  the  sun  did  of  old,  while  the  true  and 
the  faithful  everywhere  should  become  victori- 
ous and  free. 

PRESENT  STATE  OP  OUR  NATION. 

But  such  a  state  of  things  has  not  yet  been, 
and  many  fear  that  it  will  not  exist  perhaps  for 
ages.  Our  nation,  at  this  moment,  heaves  and 
tosses  like  ocean  in  the  storm ;  yea,  as  with  the 
more  terrible  earthquake,  opening  new  chasms 
downward,  shooting  new  volcanoes  upward,  even 
shaking  the  nations  that  are  afar  off,  and  per- 
plexing monarchs  on  their  thrones.  And  all  this 
has  come  from  the  lies  of  selfish,  wicked  men. 
Old  custom,  the  love  of  ease,  of  power,  of  wealth, 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  243 

and  luxury,  could  not  possibly  have  prevailed, 
had  it  not  been  for  this  diabolical  "  refuge  of 
lies."  Had  the  truth  as  to  facts,  nothing  but  the 
truth,  been  presented  from  the  platform  and 
the  press  for  the  last  thirty  years ;  had  the  peo- 
ple received  the  truth,  and  reflected  it  to  each 
other  just  as  the  millions  of  the  summer  dew- 
drops"  reflect  the  unfailing,  benignant  sun,  —  the 
present  fratricidal  war  could  never  have  been. 
It  would  have  been  as  utterly  impossible  as  for 
hailstones  and  thunderbolts  to  have  fallen  from 
the  cloudless  sky  on  herb  and  beast  and  man 
below. 

The  demons  of  falsehood  still  divide  the  land. 
The  father  of  lies  himself  hangs,  as  it  were,  in- 
visibly over  it,  in  all  his  hideous,  heaven-defying 
malignity,  and  scatters  his  own  arrows  of  destruc- 
tion into  the  ears  and  the  understandings  and 
down  into  the  hearts  of  a  credulous  people. 
What  the  end  will  be,  no  one  but  the  omniscient 
God,  or  foreseeing  and  truthful  angels,  can  tell. 
Parents,  teachers  !  such  now  is  the  state  of  our 
country ;  and  why  is  it  so,  why  has  it  been  so  ? 
Because  the  parents  and  teachers,  your  prede- 
cessors, generation  back  behind  generation,  did 
not  train  the  young  to  see  the  truth,  to  speak 
the  truth,  and  to  live  the  truth.  It  is  because  the 


244  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

educators  themselves  have  been  false :  how, 
then,  could  they  train  their  children  and  pupils 
to  be  true? 

Now,  shall  this  state  of  things  remain  ?  Shall 
it  be  ages  before  we  shall  be  a  stable  people, 
with  a  stable  government  and  a  stable  prosperi- 
ty ?  It  all  depends  upon  you,  parents  and  teach- 
ers of  this  nation,  whether  we  shall  grow  into 
safety,  and  realize  the  hopes  of  yearning  millions 
the  earth  over,  or  not.  Accept  the  views  which 
have  been  here  imperfectly  presented  as  to  train- 
ing to  the  truth  ;  let  them  be  adopted  in  the 
family,  in  the  school,  in  the  land  throughout; 
and,  with  one  addition  in  the  educational  plan, 
there  will  be,  there  must  be,  inevitable  success. 

DISCIPLINE  OF  THE  CONSCIENCE. 

But  this  addition  is  the  most  important  matter 
of  all.  Without  it,  there  can  be  no  assurance  of 
steady  progress  and  of  final  security.  This  is 
the  culture  of  the  conscience,  side  by  side,  with 
the  discipline  of  the  observing  intellect.  No- 
thing can  be  more  true,  as  all  history  proves, 
than  that  the  human  heart  is  deceitful  above  all 
things,  and  desperately  wicked.  Such  is  the  self- 
ishness of  human  nature,  —  a  selfishness  acting 
from  very  infancy,  and  strengthening  with  the 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  245 

years,  subjugating  the  intellect  to  its  service, — 
that  the  conscience  must  be  awakened  at  the 
earliest,  and  set  to  its  restraining  work.  All 
the  solemn  warnings  of  religion  will  be  needed 
with  some  constitutions  to  make  the  tongue's 
statement  true  to  the  eye's  witnessing.  Parents, 
upon  you  is  imposed,  by  the  infinitely  True,  the 
responsibility  of  quickening  the  moral  sense  of 
your  children  to  the  surest  guardianship  over 
the  tongue,  and,  indeed,  over  the  feelings  and  mo- 
tives which  lie  beneath  the  speech.  Teach  them, 
that  knowingly  to  deviate  from  exactness,  even 
as  to  trivial  incidents,  is  to  be  guilty  of  false- 
hood, and  falsehood  replete  with  danger;  for  it 
prepares  the  way  for  more  serious  deviations, 
and  thence  more  heinous  obliquity.  Impress 
upon  them,  that  what  has  once  really  taken  place 
is  fixed :  it  has  been,  it  exists  as  a  fact  for  ever. 
However  human  beings  may  misconceive  it,  take 
from  it,  or  add  to  it,  there  it  is,  printed  on  the 
irreversible  page  of  the  past ;  there  it  is,  more- 
over, naked  before  the  Omniscient  Eye.  Neither 
wishes  nor  prejudices  nor  passions,  nor  volumes 
of  words,  can  change  it  one  tittle.  In  the  pro- 
cess of  time,  and  in  the  passing-away  of  tempo- 
rary motives  and  feelings,  events  may  come  to 
be  seen  in  their  true  light.  Then  self-seekers 


246  THE   DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

and  falsifiers  will  stand  out  exposed  in  the  same 
light,  and  in  their  naked  deformity.  Train  your 
children,  therefore,  to  believe  and  to  feel  that 
they  might  as  well  struggle  up,  despite  of  gravi- 
tation, into  the  clouds  for  a  hiding-place,  as  to 
struggle  away,  and  for  ever  keep  away,  from  the 
fastness  of  fact  and  the  searching  severity  of 
truth. 

TWO   BEINGS   WHO   CANNOT   BE   ESCAPED. 

There  are  two  beings  from  whom  the  untruth- 
ful man  cannot  conceal  his  guilt.  One  is  himself. 
At  the  moment  of  its  utterance,  he  is  conscious 
of  the  falsehood.  Henceforth  it  is  written  on  his 
memory  that  he  has  lied.  He  can  no  more  wipe 
it  out  than  he  can  wipe  out  the  wrinkles  on  his 
brow  above  it,  or  shape  into  infantile  openness 
the  sinister  expression  of  his  face.  There  it  is, 
registered  on  his  memory  for  ever.  It  may  sink 
away  from  the  constant  glance  of  his  own 
thought,  perhaps  it  may  remain  unseen  for  years; 
but  it  is  not  gone.  The  leaves  of  more  recent 
experiences  are  but  laid  over  it.  Some  time, 
with  lightning  swiftness,  those  leaves  may  be 
flung  back ;  and  there,  as  in  years  long  before, 
blazes  out  the  record, — falsifier,  liar.  Teach 
your  children,  therefore,  that,  if  the  untruthful 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  247 

shall  escape  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  he  shall 
ever,  ever,  be  pursued  and  found  by  HIMSELF. 

The  other  being  from  whom  the  liar  cannot 
hide  is  that  One  of  whom  it  is  said  in  the  sacred 
oracles,  "  He  that  planted  the  ear,  shall  he  not 
hear?  He  that  formed  the  eye,  shall  he  not  see? 
Shall  not  God  search  this  out?  For  his  eyes  are 
upon  the  ways  of  man,  and  he  seeth  all  his 
goings.  There  is  no  darkness,  nor  shadow  of 
death,  where  the  workers  of  iniquity  may  hide 
themselves.  Hell  and  destruction  are  before 
the  Lord :  how  much  more,  then,  the  hearts 
of  the  children  of  men  ! " 


248  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF   THE 


TIME. 


IN  close  connection  with  action  is  another  im- 
portant matter  of  discipline.  It  regards  the 
relation  of  time.  Movement  occupies  more  or 
less  of  duration  according  to  the  space  or  dis- 
tance passed  through,  or  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  motions,  as  in  those  indicated  by  the 
ticking  of  a  time-piece  or  in  the  pulsations  of 
tfye  blood.  It  is  supposed  that  there  is  a  special 
faculty  for  the  perception  of  time,  as  there  is  in 
the  case  of  other  qualities  and  relations  in  nature. 
There  are  those  who  can  tell  almost  any  hour  of 
the  day  or  night,  without  clock  or  watch.  Such 
persons  have  a  naturally  keen  perception  of  time, 
which  has  been  increased  by  constant  use.  They 
are  always  to  a  lament  punctual  to  their  engage- 
ments. They  keep  nobody  waiting ;  that  is,  if 
their  moral  nature  is  as  true  as  their  one  intel- 
lectual ability.  Others  have  a  character  directly 
the  reverse.  Owing  to  a  constitutional  weakness, 
or  the  undeveloped  condition  of  this  faculty,  they 
have  but  little  consciousness  of  the  passing  mo- 
ments. In  early  life,  they  are  behind  at  school, 
unless  well  prompted :  as  they  grow  up,  they  are 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  249 

behindhand  in  their  engagements,  behind  in 
their  business,  behind  at  public  meetings.  Are 
they  on  committees  or  in  any  service  associated 
with  others:  they  are  always  tardy,  and  keep 
their  fellow-officials  in  uneasy  endurance.  Per- 
haps, when  they  do  arrive,  they  may  consume 
much  time  in  needless  talk,  through  the  same 
unconsciousness  which  made  them  late. 

TIME   IN  TALK. 

Some  persons  are  particularly  unconscious  of 
time  in  conversation.  They  will  spend  the  whole 
space  allotted  to  the  call  of  a  friend  on  some 
casual  topic  uninteresting  and  tedious  to  the 
hearer,  who  may  wish  to  touch  on  subjects  more 
accordant  with  his  tastes,  or  on  which  he  came 
especially  to  confer.  Cases  are  not  infrequent, 
in  which  speakers,  who  had  been  appointed  to- 
gether with  others  to  address  an 'audience,  have 
appropriated  to  themselves  nearly  the  whole 
time  of  the  occasion.  An  opening  speech  has 
been  known  to  consume  about  the  whole  even- 
ing. 

PUBLIC    OCCASIONS. 

Again  :  how  often  are  the  movements  of  vari- 
ous public  occasions  tediously  delayed  by  the  few 


250  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

persons,  and  indeed  by  some  one  individual,  hav- 
ing the  direction !  So  common  are  such  delays, 
that  people  hardly  expect  any  thing  better;  yet 
they  are  obliged  to  observe  the  appointed  hour, 
or  they  might  possibly  forego  the  profit  of  the 
occasion.  Thus  sometimes  the  precious  hours 
of  thousands  are  irretrievably  lost  through  the 
neglect  of  a  few  tardy  officials.  Let  these  thou- 
sands of  lost  hours  be  aggregated  into  one 
amount,  and  their  worth  to  industry  estimated, 
and  the  waste  would  appear  enormous. 

PUNCTUALITY  AS  TO   PROMISES. 

There  are  other  cases  in  which  the  pinch  of 
punctuality  is  not  sufficiently  felt,  and  disappoint- 
ment and  inconvenience  may  annoy,  and  possibly 
much  pecuniary  loss  be  incurred.  For  instance, 
how  often  mechanics  and  other  producers  engage 
to  furnish  articles  by  a  certain  date,  and  then 
fail  of  accomplishment !  In  fact,  through  all  the 
circles  of  business,  promises  as  to  time  are  fre- 
quently broken :  hence  losses  of  money,  or  com. 
fort  at  any  rate,  of  good  feeling,  and  perhaps  of 
amicable  relations.  This  is  a  matter  of  ordinary 
experience.  The  fact  is,  that  many  a  man,  in 
promising  the  completion  of  work  at  a  certain 
day,  has  but  a  vague  idea  of  the  time  necessary 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  251 

for  the  performance.  He  goes  by  guess.  His 
judgment  as  to  time  and  movement  has  not 
been  cultivated.  Perhaps  he  is  constitutionally 
defective,  and  can  measure  days  and  hours 
scarcely  much  better  than  the  senseless  clock 
with  its  machinery  askew. 

DISASTROUS.  LACK  OF  PROMPTITUDE. 

In  human  affairs,  there  are  crosses  and  losses 
innumerable  and  incalculable  through  lack  of 
promptitude.  At  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run, 
the  long  delay  of  one  division  in  the  morning's 
march  was  an  incidental  cause  of  that  lamentable 
defeat.  Had  our  army  got  into  action  as  early 
as  was  intended  in  the  commander's  plan,  a  de- 
cisive victory  would  have  probably  been  won 
several  hours  before  those  re-enforcements  ar- 
rived which  turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  the 
enemy.  It  was  probably  a  miscalculation  as  to 
time  on  somebody's  part  which  prevented  the 
pontoon-bridges  from  reaching  Fredericksburg 
coincidently  with  the  army,  and  thus  delaying 
Burnside's  great  movement  and  leading  to  ulti- 
mate defeat.  History  records  numerous  in- 
stances of  similar  disasters. 


252  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 


EARLY   ATTENTION  TO   THE  TIME-FACULTY. 

Now,  as  this  defect  as  to  time  is  often  a  con- 
stitutional infirmity,  it  should  be  understood  at 
the  very  outset  of  education,  and  be  remedied 
by  the  most  assiduous  culture.  It  may  be  dis- 
covered, by  a  little  attention,  what  the  native 
capacity  of  children  is  in  this  respect.  See 
whether  they  are  prompt  at  school,  church,  or 
any  other  place,  at  the  appointed  moment.  Note 
whether  they  seem  to  lose  all  idea  of  time  in 
play  or  talk  when  some  pressing  duty  is  before 
them.  Should  there  appear  an  unconsciousness 
of  duration,  then  they  must  be  watched,  and 
trained  accordingly.  As  a  disciplinary  exercise, 
let  them  be  put  in  many  ways  to  the  exact  ob- 
servation of  time  in  the  course  of  ordinary  duty. 
In  some  affairs,  certain  operations  require  a  cer- 
tain measurable  period  of  time  for  their  accom- 
plishment. The  usual  routine  of  every  day  in 
household  or  farm  matters  is  divided  into  several 
parts  appertaining  to.  one  thing  and  another.  In 
the  course  of  experience  and  habit,  calculations 
are  very  readily  made  in  respect  to  the  quantity 
of  time  demanded  by  each,  so  that  every  thing 
may  be  attended  to  and  finished  in  order.  But 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  253 

the  young  generally  need  some  special  disci- 
pline before  they  can  accurately  adjust  one  thing 
to  another  in  their  engagements.  Some  require 
very  much  care  for  the  purpose.  If  they  should 
be  neglected  in  this  matter  by  the  first  parental 
educators,  they  would  be  likely  to  go  through 
the  whole  subsequent  life,  confused  themselves, 
and  confusing  others.  Innumerable  people  con- 
tinue all  their  days  in  this  unfortunate  predica- 
ment, and  just  from  the  lack  of  foresight  and 
discipline. 

HELP  FROM  THE  TIMEPIECE. 

Accustom,  therefore,  children  to  notice  parti- 
cularly the  hours,  the  half-hours,  and  even  the 
minutes,  occupied  in  any  regular  work  or  duty. 
Let  it  be,  however,  insisted  on  that  performance 
shall  be  thorough  and  without  fluttering  haste. 
In  this  way,  they  will  learn  how  to  portion  out 
time  to  its  several  uses.  They  will  be  educated 
into  a  substantial  and  reliable  judgment  as  to 
the  seasons  of  regular  duty. 

There  are  occasifhal  transactions  which  also 
may  well  be  made  lessons.  In  doing  errands  at 
a  store  or  a  neighbor's  or  anywhere  else,  let  the 
time  of  going  and  coming  at  ordinary  speed  be 
carefully  noted.  As  children  are  fond  of  special 


254  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

exercises  if  they  but  be  made  agreeable,  let  them 
guess  how  long  it  will  take  to  walk  or  run  a  cer- 
tain distance  and  back  again,  or  to  make  a  certain 
number  of  motions  with  the  feet  or  hands  in  imi- 
tation of  work,  as  in  the  Kinder-garten  plays. 
Suppose  any  new  work  is  to  be  undertaken :  let 
there  be  guesses  as  to  the  time  occupied.  In- 
deed, no  matter  what  the  operation  is,  it  will 
serve  to  discipline  the  young  to  mark  time 
with  precision,  and  to  form  habits  of  adjusting 
movements  to  movements  with  an  economical 
accuracy,  which  shall  be  a  lifelong  benefit  to 
themselves  and  everybody  who  has  to  do  with 
them. 

MEASURING  TIME  BY  THE  SUN. 

It  is  a  good  plan,  furthermore,  to  have  chil- 
dren measure  time  by  the  place  and  the  progress 
of  the  sun.  Let  them  guess  the  time  of  day  by 
the  sun's  position  in  the  sky,  and  then  refer  to  the 
timepiece  to  see  how  near  the  precise  moment 
they  have  hit.  Let  such  an  exercise  be  pursued 
till  the  hour  of  day,  at  ;n*r  place  of  the  sun, 
may  be  quite  accurately  determined.  A  similar 
course  might  be  pursued  in  respect  to  the  moon 
and  the  stars,  for  the  sake  of  a  more  thorough 
education  of  the  faculty,  and  perhaps  for  occa- 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  255 

sional  and  valuable  use  in  emergencies  that 
might  arise.  Indeed,  the  first  idea  of  time  came 
from  the  regular  movements  of  the  heavenly 
bodies.  Hence  originated  those  divisions  of  du- 
ration which  are  named  in  the  languages,  and 
govern  the  doings  of  all  the  world.  These  phe- 
nomena of  the  heavens  perpetually  teach  and 
remind  mankind  of  the  importance  of  method  or 
economy  in  the  use  of  time.  No  lesson  pertain- 
ing to  life's  practical  affairs  is  inculcated  on  a 
grander  scale  than  this.  It  is  written  on  the 
expanse  of  the  firmament.  It  is  illustrated  by 
revolving  globes.  Parents  !  shall  this  wisdom,  so 
mightily  and  momentously  vouchsafed,  be  lost  to 
your  children  because  you  fail  to  interpret  it 
to  their  understandings  and  impress  it  on  their 
hearts  ? 


256  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 


ORDER. 


IN  the  works  of  God  there  is  a  certain  order,  or 
methodical  arrangement,  which  is  best  adapted 
to  the  end  for  which  they  were  made.  Not  only 
organic  forms  of  matter,  but  the  operations  by 
which  they  accomplish  their  uses,  exhibit  this 
perfect  adaptation  of  one  thing  to  another,  and 
of  means  to  ends.  Thus  they  give  an  all-impor- 
tant lesson  to  man  for  his  own  works  and  ways. 
In  human  affairs,  it  is  by  a  similar  systematiza- 
tion  that  the  greatest  good  is  brought  to  pass. 

A  SPECIAL  FACULTY. 

It  is  supposed  that  there  is  a  special  mental 
faculty  which  takes  cognizance  of  order.  It 
gives  to  the  individual  the  ability  to  notice  and 
appreciate  it  in  things  around ;  and  also  the 
ability  to  do  things,  and  keep  things  himself,  ac- 
cording to  the  same  rule.  There  are  sometimes 
wide  differences  between  one  person  and  another 
as  to  the  native  strength  of  this  faculty.  To  be 
convinced  of  this,  we  have  but  to  recall  our  ex- 
periences with  various  people.  One  has  a  place 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  257 

for  every  thing,  and  keeps  every  thing  in  its  own 
place.  Such  a  one  is  thoroughly  systematic  in 
business.  That  thing  is  done  first  which  in  good 
judgment  should  come  first.  He  knows  when 
his  work  is  completed.  There  are  no  hurried 
runnings  or  flurried  huddlings  to  finish  up  what 
was  supposed  to  be  already  finished.  With  him, 
"  done  "  means  done,  and  is  truly  so.  His  anti- 
cipated leisure  is  not  all  cut  up  or  cut  short 
in  the  least  by  his  own  neglects.  As  far  as 
depends  on  himself,  he  is  always  sure  of  time 
for  pastime.  Just  like  the  sun  that  regularly 
shines  on  him,  he  knows  his  exact  path,  and  his 
exact  place  in  that  path,  at  every  hour  from 
morning  until  evening ;  and  then  he  knows 
when  his  day  is  done,  as  the  sun  knows  his 
going-down. 

How  entirely  different  from  this  is  the  con- 
stitutional character  and  prevalent  habits  of 
another  person !  Indeed,  how  many  there  are, 
who,  as  to  a  systematic  disposition  of  things, 
are  about  as  much  to  be  calculated  on  as  the 
dust  blown  and  tossed  by  the  wind !  They  can- 
not calculate  on  themselves.  They  are  disturbed 
by  tendencies  which  have  crept  into  their  na- 
tures from  some  progenitor :  so  these  tendencies 
impel  them  to  and  fro,  up  and  down,  evermore, 
17 


258  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF   THE 

because  no  educating  hand  came  in  good  season 
to  the  rescue. 

Such  being  the  contingencies  of  poor  human 
nature,  they  should  be  looked  after  without  fail, 
and  right  early.  The  educator  should  under- 
stand the  child's  native  mark  of  ability  to  appre- 
ciate order  and  conform  to  its  laws.  It  can  soon 
be  seen  whether  much  attention  shall  be  re- 
quired. Be  the  faculty  stronger  or  weaker,  it 
should  be  put  to  its  use,  and  consequently  under 
discipline,  the  same  as  the  other  intellectual 
powers.  The  parent's  loving  heart  will  be  glad 
at  an  easy  task ;  and  the  same  heart,  together 
with  a  quickening  conscience,  will  prompt  to 
perseverance  and  insure  success  in  the  more 
difficult  case. 

HOW   TO   DISCIPLINE   THE   FACULTY. 

Let  us  now  consider  what  a  child  may  be  put 
upon  quite  early  in  the  way  of  training  the 
faculty  of  order. 

I  once  knew  a  child,  not  more  than  nine  months 
old,  who  was  disturbed  and  uncomfortable  when 
some  prominent  article  in  the  room,  as  a  table, 
work-stand,  or  chair,  was  not  in  its  accustomed 
place.  He  would  point  with  his  finger,  together 
with  a  significant,  indeed  an  imploring  expres- 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  259 

sion  of  his  eye,  to  the  thing  in  its  irregular  posi- 
tion. This  child,  no  doubt,  possessed  the  faculty 
of  order  in  very  strong  constitutional  develop- 
ment. But  we  may  infer  from  the  instance,  that 
children,  on  the  average,  may,  in  this  respect,  be 
quite  early  trained  to  strength  and  accuracy.  A 
child  who  only  creeps  might  be  set  to  the  use  of 
pushing  a  displaced  chair  into  its  position  in  line 
with  the  other  chairs.  When  he  shall  get  fairly 
upon  his  feet,  he  might  have  a  care,  according  to 
strength,  that  any  article  of  furniture  in  the  room, 
when  out  of  place,  should  be  put  right.  Such  a 
charge  would  be  not  only  a  discipline  in  the  plan 
of  the  parent,  but  it  would  be  an  actual  pleasure 
in  the  idea  of  a  child.  He  wants  to  move ;  he 
cannot  bear  to  be  still :  if  he  can  do  things  to  a 
certain  end  like  others,  and  especially  if  he  can 
gratify  others  by  his  activities,  he  is  in  his  life's 
delight. 

CARE   OF  PLAYTHINGS   AND   CLOTHES. 

Accustom  a  child  to  take  the  best  possible 
care  of  his  own  playthings, —  to  have  a  special 
place  for  them  when  not  in  use.  They  should 
never  be  thrust  confusedly  down,  and  lie  in  a 
jumble,  as  so  often  happens,  but  be  laid  by  with 
as  much  regard  for  convenient  arrangement  and 


260  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 

neatness  as  any  implement  of  adult  industry 
may  be  put  away,  each  where  it  belongs.  This 
order  about  playthings  will  be  an  important  pre- 
paration for  order  in  the  work-things  of  after-life. 

Still  further :  let  children  be  educated  to  keep 
their  own  clothes  in  the  best  possible  disposure 
in  the  drawer,  chest,  or  closet,  or  wherever  they 
may  be  placed.  Let  each  article,  however  small, 
have  its  own  particular  position,  where,  if  need 
be,  it  might  be  found  in  the  dark. 

Their  clothes,  on  being  taken  off  for  the  night, 
should  be  put  in  a  certain  definite  and  appro- 
priate place :  not  here  at  one  time,  and  there  at 
another,  but  in  the  best  position  for  airing ;  and 
each  article  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  most  easily 
come  at,  even  without  light.  Thus,  in  the  case  of 
fire  and  the  necessity  of  quick  escape,  whether  at 
home  or  abroad,  whether  at  the  house  of  a  friend 
or  at  a  strange  hotel,  the  clothes  could  at  least 
be  snatched  by  the  hand,  if  there  should  not  be 
time  to  put  them  on.  By  an  of  derly  habit  of  this 
sort,  thousands  in  the  conflagrations  of  the  past 
would  not  have  been  driven  almost  naked  from 
the  burning  into  opposite  elements,  which  dis- 
eased them  perhaps  for  life  by  their  inclemen- 
cies. 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  261 


HOUSEHOLD    MATTERS. 

When  children  shall  be  old  enough  to  assist  in 
household  affairs  or  other  duties,  it  is  of  much 
consequence  that  they  should  do  every  thing 
according  to  that  exact  succession  of  operations 
by  which  any  kind  of  work  can  be  most  speedily 
and  most  thoroughly  accomplished.  Days  and 
weeks,  and,  in  a  long  life,  even  months,  are  lost 
to  some,  because  the  precise  firstly,  secondly, 
thirdly,  &c.,  are  not  linked  into  habit.  The  buzz- 
ing, clattering,  rumbling  factories  of  all  sorts 
might  instruct  such  wasters ;  for  here  must  be  a 
certain  beginning,  a  regular  progress,  and  a  de- 
finite and  sure  completion. 

Early  and  fixed  habits  of  this  sort  will  have 
great  influence  on  their  own  industrial  condi- 
tions and  success  in  the  far  future.  In  the  case 
of  girls,  the  practice  of  order  cannot  be  too  early 
commenced,  and  it  should  never  be  intermitted. 
They  grow  up  right  in  the  midst  of  those  matters 
and  things,  the  like  of  which  is  to  make  their 
own  chief  duty  as  wives  and  mothers.  Laxity  of 
order  in  girlhood,  unreformed  then,  will  run  very 
probably  a  disturbing  force  through  all  their 
housekeeping  future. 


262  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 


BOYS. 

In  the  case  of  boys,  they  may  be  put  to  ap- 
prenticeships in  which  there  is  a  necessity  for  a 
certain  order,  as  in  mechanical  trades  and  the  use 
of  machinery.  They  may  be  compelled  to  be 
systematic  in  their  vocations  to  a  certain  extent; 
yet,  in  other  affairs,  they  may  fall  into  exceedipg 
laxity  and  confusion.  Whatever,  therefore,  they 
have  to  do,  within  or  around  the  h,ouse,  should 
be  performed  with  regularity  and  precision ;  not 
only  because  it  is  best  for  the  occasion,  but  be- 
cause it  will  be  a  valuable  discipline  toward  their 
future. 

NEATNESS. 

Personal  neatness  comes  under  this  head  of 
order.  This,  with  some  constitutions,  will  be 
found  to  require  much  training  and  discipline. 
There  are  children,  who,  from  a  native  instinct, 
have  a  strong  abhorrence  of  any  soiling  of  their 
persons  or  clothes.  They  are  early  quite  sen- 
sible of  any.  lack  of  neatness  about  a  room. 
Others  are  much  the  reverse.  These  seem  to 
enjoy  dirt  and  disorder  as  much  as  others  do  the 
best  condition  of  things.  These  disorderly  na- 
tures must  be  early  looked  to,  and  continually 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  2G3 

watched  as  they  go  along  up,  that,  through  mere 
discipline,  they  may  have  that  habit  of  neatness 
which  will  be  necessary  for  the  comfort  and  satis- 
faction of  others,  if  not  for  their  own.  Many  a 
man,  slovenly  in  his  person  and  in  his  business, 
many  an  untidy  woman  and  housekeeper,  might 
have  been  blessed  with  at  least  average  habits 
of  neatness,  had  they  been  properly  disciplined 
in  their  early  homes.  Such  children  should  be 
set  particularly  to  put  and  keep  things  in  order 
about  a  house  or  the  surroundings.  If  any  thing 
should  be  out  of  place,  they,  above  all  others, 
should  be  set  to  put  it  in  place.  If  they  must 
go,  in  case  of  need,  up  into  the  garret,  down 
into  the  cellar,  to  some  distant  out-house,  or 
away  into  a  field,  so  much  the  better.  The  far- 
ther they  shall  have  to  run,  the  more  impressive 
and  profitable  the  practical  lesson.  This  sort  of 
task  should  be  made  an  imperative  duty,  to  be 
continued  as  long  as  is  necessary.  By  this  dis- 
cipline, such  faulty  organizations  will  be  forced 
into  the  desirable  habits,  even  against  their  own 
natures. 

There  is  a  neatness  in  work,  and  in  the  way  of 
doing  a  thousand  little  things,  which  many  peo- 
ple, for  the  lack  of  early  education,  do  not  pos- 
sess. They  will  drop  and  slop,  spill  and  spatter, 


264  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  THE 

in  every  direction,  simply  because  they  are  not 
trained  to  steadiness  of  hand,  carefulness  of  the 
foot,  or  quick  observation  of  the  eye.  Pains  and 
perseverance  with  such  children  will  save  much 
trouble  under  the  parental  roof,  and  will  pre- 
vent them,  doubtless,  from  innumerable  discom- 
forts and  a  thousand  chagrins  in  their  own  future 
home.  But  let  it  be  most  especially  remembered, 
that  example  will  be  unspeakably  more  powerful 
than  precept.  The  young  will  hardly  practise 
order  amid  the  surrounding  confusion  of  their 
elders.  The  disorder  in  which  they  have  been 
brought  up,  and  to  which  they  have  been  from 
the  earliest  accustomed,  is  quite  likely  to  be  the 
earliest  and  habitual  experience  of  their  own 
rising  families,  and  to  become,  possibly,  the  un- 
profitable inheritance  of  generations  still  beyond. 

AN    APPEAL. 

Parents  !  for  your  own  sakes  in  the  dear  home, 
for  the  sake  of  loved  children  in  their  future 
abodes  and  vocations,  and  for  the  sake  of  that 
common  usefulness  every  one  owes  to  his  kind ; 
for  the  sake  of  some  higher  and  wider  good 
your  son  or  daughter  may  be  providentially 
called  to  accomplish,  —  do  not  omit  a  duty  com- 
paratively so  easy  as  the  one  now  enjoined. 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  265 

Train  your  young  families  to  that  methodical 
arrangement,  to  that  best  order,  so  necessary  to 
give  to  art  and  industry  and  to  all  virtuous  en- 
deavors the  highest  success.  By  such  a  habit, 
work  which  must  be  done,  however  coarse,  may 
be  done  in  a  way  which  is  not  only  the  shortest 
and  the  easiest,  but  which  may  have  even  some- 
thing like  a  gracefulness  about  it.  By  this,  the 
humblest  task  may  have  an  adornment. 

The  inferior  animals,  each  after  its  kind,  are 
orderly  by  instinct,  and  might  instruct  the  intel- 
ligences put  over  them  in  dominion.  Inanimate 
nature,  close  by  and  all  around,  teaches  those 
who  labor  in  its  midst  the  same  lesson.  How 
instructive  are  soil,  water,  air,  heat,  and  light, 
as  they  work  and  build  up  blooming  and  fruitful 
vegetation  !  The  same  wisdom  comes  from  the 
far  silent  heavens :  with  a  power  mightier  than 
any  human  speech,  they  proclaim  the  necessity 
of  system.  They  show  forth  the  beauty,  the 
majesty,  the  divine  perfectness,  of  order,  while 
they  declare  the  glory  of  God. 


266  THE  DISCIPLINE   OF  THE 


CONCLUSION. 


OTHER  specific  topics  belong  to  the  subject  of 
these  suggestions,  and  might  properly  have  been 
considered.  But  this  division  of  the  volume  has 
been  extended  much  beyond  the  original  design. 
It  is  hoped  that  the  patience  of  readers  will  hold 
out  for  some  closing  thoughts,  which  may  still  fur- 
ther elucidate  and  confirm  the  theory  presented. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  the  majority  of  man- 
kind do  not  begin  to  study  specifically  and  minute- 
ly the  substances  on  which  they  are  to  operate 
through  all  their  industrial  lives,  until  they  get 
into  apprenticeship  or  into  actual  business. 
Then  there  must  be  disadvantage  and  loss,  for  a 
time,  in  proportion  to  the  ignorance.  In  some 
cases,  this  ignorance  continues  quite  palpably  and 
injuriously  through  all  their  vocational  course. 
Now,  the  training  which  has  been  indicated  is  a 
process  of  fitting  one,  in  a  degree,  for  all  sorts  of 
business  whatever ;  a  process  begun  with  the 
very  opening  of  the  eyes  and  the  putting-forth 
of  the  hand.  Indeed,  Nature  is  continually  striv- 
ing to  educate  the  perceptive  faculties;  and 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  2G7 

would  really  double  and  quadruple  their  develop- 
ment and  attainments,  if  we  would  let  her  have 
her  own  methods,'and  lend  her  a  helping  hand 
amid  the  multitude  of  objects  which  might  con- 
fuse the  young  learner's  attention. 

There  are  certain  individuals  whose  peculiar 
organization  will  make  them  sharp-sighted ;  will 
place  things,  and  all  their  qualities,  before  them 
just  as  they  are,  notwithstanding  the  distracting 
circumstances  of  number,  variety,  and  even  dis- 
order: but  these  are  comparatively  few.  The 
majority  need  help  and  showing,  that  the  most 
may  be  made  of  the  materials  around.  This  must 
be  evident  from  the  exercises  in  objects  and  qua- 
lities which  have  been  here  proposed ;  for  how 
few,  without  advice,  would  pursue  these  matters 
in  the  best  way,  and  to  the  most  profitable  extent ! 
Indeed,  how  has  the  whole  world  gone  blunder- 
ingly along  with  the  idea,  that  education  consists 
in  words,  —  words  wide  apart  from  the  things  to 
which  they  belong !  It  has  scarcely  occurred 
to  educators  generally,  that,  in  presenting  things 
to  the  learner,  they  must  almost  necessarily  pre- 
sent words — nouns,  adjectives,  and  verbs — which 
would  stick  to  these  things  like  their  color  in  the 
day-time,  or  as  their  temperature  does  both  day 
and  night. 


268  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  THE 


HOW   A  GOOD  JUDGMENT  COMES. 

There  is  a  common  saying  about  certain  indi- 
viduals something  like  this:  "  He  has  an  excellent 
judgment;  he  is  remarkable  for  his  judgment." 
Now,  what  is  meant?  It  is  this:  He  knows  what 
things  are  in  their  qualities  and  relations,  and  he 
knows  what  to  do  with  them  to  the  best  possible 
advantage.  Innumerable  instances  in  the  various 
avocations  of  life  might  be  adduced  in  illustra- 
tion. How  common  it  is  for  a  citizen  to  be  called 
on  to  appraise  the  goods  of  a  neighboring  estate, 
or,  as  a  public  officer,  to  make  valuations  of  pro- 
perty for  taxes !  In  such  cases,  a  practical  know- 
ledge of  commodities  is  all-important.  We  may 
take  the  most  striking  and  instructive  instances 
from  these  very  times.  Millions  of  money  are 
lost  to  the  nation  through  the  ignorance  of  com- 
missaries, quartermasters,  contractors,  and  other 
providers  for  our  armies,  through  the  lack  of 
that  early  and  continued  education  of  the  observ- 
ing faculties  which  has  now  been  advised.  If 
the  loss,  for  the  most  part,  comes  from  any  other 
cause,  it  must  be  from  a  criminal  dishonesty, 
deserving  the  punishment  of  a  penitentiary  from 
a  cheated  country. 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  269 

VIVID  RECOLLECTIONS  IMPORTANT. 

Furthermore,  a  great  deal  of  business  is  done 
in  the  way  of  trade,  without  the  actual  presence 
and  inspection  of  the  commodity  to  be  bought  and 
sold.  In  this  case,  much  is  to  be  trusted  to  the 
honesty  or  honor  of-  the  seller.  Nevertheless,  a 
great  deal  depends,  on  both  sides,  upon  the  actual 
knowledge  of  things  previously  acquired.  With- 
out such  knowledge,  the  buyer  must  take  the  sell- 
er's word ;  and,  without  this  knowledge,  the 
seller  himself  may  unintentionally  mislead:  for 
in  both  of  their  memories  and  conceptions  there 
may  lie  a  confused  mass  of  things,  designated  by 
certain  names.  As  for  the  absolute  qualities, 
fitnesses,  and  values,  it  may  be  the  merest  guess- 
work with  both.  Or,  if  but  one  of  the  parties  is 
ignorant,  he  must  go  by  guess,  or  trust  impli- 
citly to  the  integrity  of  the  other.  Now,  let  a 
thorough  acquaintance  with  objects  and  their 
qualities  be  obtained,  and  there  they  lie  in  the 
memory  in  all  distinctness.  There  is  no  confu- 
sion. The  mind's  eye  sees  similar  commodities 
in  the  distant  ship  or  warehouse,  or  anywhere 
else,  about  as  clearly  as  the  physical  eye  would 
see  them  lying  beneath  the  face.  The  memory, 
as  a  general  rule,  performs  its  office  well  or  ill, 


270  THE  DISCIPLINE  OP  THE 

just  in  proportion  as  the  original  perceptions  are 
disciplined  and  developed  ;  so  that,  in  a  large 
portion  of  business  transactions,  what  is  good 
judgment  depends  on  distinct  and  accurate 
recollections. 


DISTINGUISHED    MEN. 

The  histories  of  many  distinguished  persons 
show,  that  it  was  a  culture  quite  independent  of 
prescribed  educational  forms  which  made  them 
useful  and  eminent.  Among  the  extraordinary 
men  of  our  own  country  are  those  whose  literary 
advantages  were  exceedingly  limited.  They  sim- 
ply exercised  their  naked  faculties  on  whatever 
came  before  them,  or  lay  in  any  providential  line 
of  duty.  They  might  have  had  some  one  power, 
like  individuality  or  eventuality,  in  uncommon 
strength.  This,  spontaneously,  leading  the  way, 
might  have  brought  concomitant  powers  into 
action  and  increasing  ability.  All  the  faculties 
were  employed  upon  the  objects,  the  events,  the 
realities  of  the  present  world,  and  state  of  things; 
while  their  privileged  contemporaries  were  en- 
gaged on  abstract  books  and  chapters,  sentences 
and  words.  Although  these  students  of  real  life 
might  be  quite  inaccurate  in  the  nice  uses  of  Ian- 


OBSERVING  FACULTIES.  271 

guage,  yet  they  obtained  the  weightier  matters 
of  a  useful  education.  Such  men,  nevertheless, 
generally  possess  an  adequate  ability  at  expres- 
sion, as  far  as  it  is  necessary  simply  to  convey 
their  own  ideas.  Indeed,  these  observers  and 
doers  often  have  a  remarkable  facility  of  speech. 
This  comes  from  the  very  nature  of  their  educa- 
tion. They  somehow  pick  up  words  appropriate 
to  all  the  things,  qualities,  relations,  actions,  and 
transactions  within  their  notice ;  and  those  words 
are  presented  naturally  and  easily  with  the  sub- 
jects to  which  they  belong.  If  there  should  be 
any  defect  at  all,  it  is  that  of  some  little  point 
which  they  might  have  rectified  themselves,  as 
many  do,  by  a  strenuous  and  determined  self- 
discipline.  The  strongest  men  in  our  nation,  the 
centres  of  momentous  circles  of  affairs,  may  be 
excelled  by  school-girls  of  fifteen  as  to  verbal 
and  grammatical  niceties.  The  ability  adequate 
to  the  Presidency  of  the  nation  or  to  a  Cabinet 
secretaryship  does  not  depend  on  verbalities 
obtained  at  school  or  college,  but  on  an  acquaint- 
ance with  things  and  actions  and  principles ;  a 
knowledge  of  individual,  social,  municipal,  civil, 
military,  national,  and  international  realities. 
Washington's  success,  at  the  head  of  armies  and 
administrations,  was  the  result  of  that  sound 


272  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  THE 

judgment  which  had  been  matured  amid  present 
substances,  passing  events,  and  pressing  emer- 
gencies. 

BOOKS,  NEVERTHELESS. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed,  by  what  precedes,  that 
an  unwarrantable  discarding  of  books  is  advised. 
It  is  simply  meant  that  books  shall  not  come  into 
use  so  early,  so  numerously,  and  so  unintermit- 
tedly,  as  to  stifle  and  dwarf  the  faculties  instead 
of  aiding  to  strengthen  them.  The  distinguished 
men  alluded  to  improved  themselves  by  reading 
as  they  had  opportunity ;  and,  in  one  respect, 
they  read  with  a  peculiar  advantage.  Their  pre- 
liminary experience  with  the  world's  naked 
realities  enabled  them  to  take  hold  of  language 
with  a  strong,  effective  grasp,  as  if  words  were 
palpable  handles  to  the  meanings  underneath. 
They  labored,  however,  under  many  and  great 
disadvantages.  Their  improvement  came  with- 
out system,  —  now  and  then,  —  here  a  little,  and 
there  a  little. 

With  our  present  command  of  means,  we  our- 
selves should  seek  for  our  children  that  educa- 
tion which  begins  exactly  in  the  right  place  and 
at  the  right  time,  and  which  proceeds  in  the 
best  order,  and  in  those  directions,  and  to  that 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  273 

extent,  which  shall  make  the  largest  and  fullest 
measure  of  good. 

Dear  fellow-educators  !  —  with  what  gentle 
touches  of  nature's  elements,  as  with  his  own 
tender  fingers,  does  the  infinite  Parent  awaken 
his  immortal  offspring  to  consciousness  and 
thought !  Why  shall  we  not  follow  these  divine 
intimations?  Be  assured  that  they  run,  with 
unbroken  continuance,  into  grand  rules  of  de- 
velopment and  great  infallible  signs  along  the 
way  of  everlasting  progress. 

Leaving  much  that  might  well  be  said,  were 
there  space,  we  will  now  consider  the  unfolding 
of  those  affections,  without  which  the  intellect, 
however  mighty  amid  material  things,  is  yet  but 
weak  and  poor,  and  can  never  rise  to  those 
realms  where  angels  teach,  and  none  but  the 
loving  grow  wise. 


18 


274  THE  DISCIPLINE   OP  THE 


A  LETTER  FROM  THE  AGENT  OF  THE  MASSA- 
CHUSETTS  BOARD   OF   EDUCATION. 


[After  the  preceding  suggestions  were  first  sent  to  the  press,  cir- 
cumstances occasioned  a  considerable  delay  in  the  printing.  In  the 
mean  time,  the  discipline  in  view  has  been  fast  gaining  in  public 
favor.  I  submitted  the  "  Suggestions,"  as  soon  as  I  could,  in  sheet*, 
to  the  large-minded  and  efficient  State  official  above  mentioned ;  and 
I  am  fortunate  in  the  permission  to  place  his  letter  here  as  a  most 
seasonable  and  sufficient  indorsement  of  my  own  views  on  the  sub- 
ject.] 

BOSTON,  April  28, 1863. 
Rev.  WARREN  BURTON. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  very  glad  to  learn  that  you 
are  about  to  publish  a  work  for  parents,  embodying  the 
results  of  your  varied  experience,  wide  observation, 
and  long  study.  The  portion  of  this  volume  which  I 
have  had  the  pleasure  of  reading  abounds  in  wise  and 
practical  suggestions  of  great  importance.  Your  hints 
on  "  Object-teaching"  will  accomplish  much  good,  if 
they  lead  parents  to  the  early  and  proper  discipline  of 
the  observing  faculties  of  their  children.  So  far  as 
relates  to  intellectual  training,  I  heartily  concur  in  the 
(  sentiment  of  Ruskin,  "  The  more  I  think  of  it,  I  find 
this  conclusion  more  impressed  upon  me,  that  the  great- 
est thing  a  human  soul  ever  does  in  this  world  is  to 
see  something,  and  tell  what  it  saw  in  a  plain  way. 
Hundreds  of  people  can  talk,  to  one  who  thinks ;  but 
thousands  can  think,  to  one  who  can  see." 


OBSERVING   FACULTIES.  275 

The  importance  and  methods  of  "Object-teaching" 
have  been  a  frequent  topic  of  my  lectures  at  teachers' 
institutes  and  normal  schools  for  more  than  six  years. 
The  system  is  gradually  working  its  way  into  our 
schools,  and,  when  in  skilful  hands,  with  the  happiest 
results.  I  have  spent  several  weeks  during  the  last 
year  in  visiting  the  best  "  object-schools  "  in  the  coun- 
try, especially  in  New  York,  Albany,  New  Britain, 
Conn.,  Toronto,  C.W.,  and  Oswego,  N.Y.  This  sys- 
tem has  been  more  fully  and  successfully  applied  in  the 
schools  of  the  latter  place  than  anywhere  else  in  this 
country.  As  a  result,  the  primary  schools  of  Oswego, 
which  a  few  years  since  were  in  a  low  condition,  have 
been  raised  to  a  degree  of  excellence,  probably  not  sur- 
passed, if  equalled,  in  this  country.  I  visited  all  the 
schools  of  the  city,  with  a  single  exception,  in  order  to 
observe  the  working  of  the  system  under  a  great  va- 
riety of  circumstances,  and  with  all  classes  of  children, 
the  rich  and  the  poor,  Germans,  French,  Irish,  and 
Scotch,  as  well  as  Americans.  So  celebrated  have 
these  schools  become,  that  Oswego  is  now  a  sort  of 
Mecca  for  educators  from  nearly  all  the  loyal  States. 
During  a  visit  of  less  than  two  weeks  in  that  city,  I 
observed  representatives  present  from  several  distant 
States,  including  teachers,  committees,  and  superin- 
tendents. This,  I  was  told,  Avas  but  the  usual  number 
of  visitors  from  abroad.  While  I  should  dissent  from 
some  views  and  methods  there  adopted,  the  system,  as 
a  whole,  is,  in  my  judgment,  practical,  philosophical, 
and  admirably  adapted  to  young  children. 

But  this  drill  ou<rht  to  begin  lon«r  before  the  school 


276  THE   OBSERVING   FACULTIES. 

age.  The  parent  should  daily  give  training-lessons  in 
common  things.  I  value  this  book  as  one  designed  and 
fitted  to  make  parents  "  object-teachers  ;  "  to  convince 
them  that  the  facts  and  objects  surrounding  the  child 
in  every-day  life  should  be  the  earliest  and  most  effec- 
tive instruments  in  developing  his  powers ;  and  that 
thus  habits  of  close,  accurate,  and  exhaustive  observa- 
tion should  be  early  formed. 

BIRDSEY  G.  NORTHROP, 

Agent  Mass.  Board  of  Education. 


TOPICS 


RELIGIOUS    EDUCATION. 


NOTE. 


LET  it  not  be  understood  that  the  writer  thinks  this  division  of 
his  volume  at  all  complete.  He  is  aware,  that,  on  the  topics  here 
considered,  more  might  be  said,  and  certainly  a  great  deal  better 
said,  than  will  now  be  found.  There  are  some  kindred  points  which 
he  has  not  touched  upon  at  all,  or  but  very  briefly.  He  has  fol- 
lowed the  course  of  thought  and  sentiment  which  providentially  ran 
through  his  own  mind.  On  some  other  occasion,  perhaps,  subjects 
here  neglected,  or  treated  but  slightly,  will  receive  from  him  more 
worthy  attention.  At  any  rate,  if  readers  will  consult  other  writers 
on  education,  as  they  are  sincerely  besought  to  do,  they  will  find 
some  of  the  deficiencies  of  this  humble  work  quite  amply  supplied. 


THE  FIRST  KNOWLEDGE   OF   THE 
CREATOR. 


WHAT  is  the  best  method  of  communicating  the 
first  ideas  and  knowledge  of  the  Divine  Being  to 
a  child  ? 

It  requires  forethought  and  wisdom  to  make 
this  communication  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the 
most  high,  most  holy,  and  most  loving  Object 
of  thought.  We  know  how  deep  are  earliest 
impressions ;  how  strong  and  uneradicable  are 
the  ties  of  association :  how  unspeakably  impor- 
tant, then,  are  the  associations  which  should 
surround  the  first  idea  of  the  greatest  and  best 
of  all  beings  in  the  mind  of  a  child  !  He  is  to  be 
reverenced  and  loved  more  than  all  others ;  and 
there  should  be  nothing  which  could  possibly 
detract  from  the  most  full  and  perfect  enjoyment 
of  this  chief,  central,  supreme  Image  in  the  mind. 
Every  thing  should  be  in  harmony  with  all  the 
perfect  attributes  of  God,  as  these  shall  be  ra- 
tionally and  truly  understood  in  maturer  life. 
The  associations  of  the  first  communication,  at  a 


280  THE   FIRST  KNOWLEDGE 

time  when  these  attributes  can  hardly  be  appre- 
hended, will  go  along  with  the  opening  under- 
standing and  affections,  and  be  connected  with 
even  the  best  idea  of  the  Divine  that  may  come 
in  to  the  unfolding  capacities.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, that  the  first  knowledge  of  the  Creator 
should  be  communicated  on  some  chosen  occa- 
sion, and  by  the  person  who,  from  relationship 
and  loving  care,  will  best  represent  the  divine 
attributes.  This  person  is  the  parent. 

The  first  consideration  respects  that  one  par- 
ticular name  of  the  several  belonging  to  the 
Infinite  One,  by  which  he  shall  be  first  desig- 
nated to  a  child.  Were  the  title,  Our  Father  in 
heaven,  or  Our  heavenly  Father,  the  first  to  be 
impressed  upon  the  infant  memory,  it  would  not, 
at  this  early  age,  be  associated  with  the  deep 
overflowing  love  and  all  the  watchful  care  of  the 
parental  relation.  These  qualities  would  not 
come  into  view,  except  with  growing  experience. 
It  seems  to  me,  therefore,  that  the  name  GOD 
should  be  the  first  through  which  the  mind  should 
have  this  earliest  knowledge.  This  is  the  first 
and  the  oftenest  used  in  the  Bible.  Indeed, 
in  point  of  time,  the  Divine  Being  was  God,  be- 
fore he  was  a  Father  to  the  child.  The  relation 
of  Father  does  not  exist  till  the  offspring  has 


OF   THE    CREATOR.  281 

existence ;  but  from  eternity  he  is  the  self-exists 
ent  God.  This  name,  therefore,  should  be  the 
first  presented,  as  indicating  a  Being  whom  he 
cannot  see,  but  who  is  the  Maker  of  all  he  does 
see.  It  would  be  a  new  name  to  him.  It  should 
be  presented  so  as  to  be  a  most  impressive  name; 
moreover,  one,  above  all,  most  pleasant  in  re- 
membrance. 

The  Divine  Being  is  generally  first  made  known 
in  connection  with  some  one  of  his  works.  "Who 
made  it  ?  "  is  one  of  the  earliest  questionings  of 
a  child,  as  if  he  had  an  intuitive  notion  that  every 
thing  must  have  a  maker.  "  God  made  it,"  is  an 
answer  and  a  belief  written  among  the  earliest 
memories  of  all  the  Christian  generations.  Now, 
what  object  shall  be  the  first  occasion  of  using 
the  holy  Name,  and  of  expressing  the  fact  of  di- 
vine creation  ?  It  seems  to  me,  it  should  be  the 
most  beautiful,  majestic,  glorious  representative 
of  God  presented  by  the  whole  material  crea- 
tion,—  the  sun.  Nothing  so  attracts  the  infant's 
eye  as  the  light ;  for  the  light  belongs  to  the  eye, 
and  the  eye  belongs  to  the  light.  The  very  flame 
from  the  fireside  and  the  candle  attracts  his  gaze 
before  he  has  looked  beyond  the  walls  of  the 
nursery ;  and,  at  first,  more  than  any  thing  else 
within  them.  How,  then,  must  the  brightness  of 


282  THE  FIRST   KNOWLEDGE 

the  sun  fasten  his  inexperienced  attention  !  But 
not  that  of  the  noonday  luminary.  These  splen- 
dors dazzle  away  the  eye,  and  prevent  calm, 
impressive  contemplation.  It  is  the  sun,  then,  in 
its  milder  glories,  not  overpowering  the  vision 
to  blindness,  but  filling  it  with  pleasure  and  admi- 
ration, through  which  the  idea  of  God  should  be 
first  conveyed.  It  is  through  the  rising  light 
that  the  idea  of  the  Father  of  lights  should  first 
ascend  into  the  soul's  firmament,  and  thence 
illumine  all  ideas  and  all  knowledge  beneath. 

With  some  special  care,  almost  any  child  might 
be  led  to  gaze  at  and  admire  the  morning  twi- 
light and  the  mounting  sun.  If  there  is  any 
thing  in  all  nature  which  can  fasten  his  vision  in 
the  intensest  observation,  it  is  this.  He  may  be 
pleased  with  the  tree-blossom,  or  the  flower  from 
the  garden  or  field,  or  any  other  bright  object ; 
he  may  be  amused,  may  be  delighted,  with  these 
beautiful  little  things :  but  it  is  not  with  such 
that  I  would  first  associate  the  name  of  the  great 
and  glorious  God.  The  first  and  deepest  impres- 
sion of  the  Almighty  Creator  should  not  be  with 
what  is  little  and  pretty;  which  can  be  held  in 
the  hand,  played  with,  and  picked  to  pieces  by  the 
fingers,  and  destroyed.  No ;  but  carry  him,  as 
early  as  he  shall  be  able  to  individualize  the 


OP   THE    CREATOR.  283 

object,  able  to  separate  it  from  the  horizon  of 
earth  and  sky,  from  contiguous  cloud  or  hill,  to 
behold  the  rising  sun.  A  child  is  attracted  not 
only  by  form  and  color,  but  by  motion.  Here 
he  beholds  the  most  perfect  form  amid  the  most 
charming  hues,  —  a  glory  too  mild  to  dazzle  and 
pain  the  eye  ;  and  this,  in  grand  magnificent 
movement,  a  double  enchantment  to  the  fastened 
gaze.  Let.  this  spectacle  become  a  frequent  and 
a  most  desirable  pastime  to  the  opening,  the  ad- 
miring, the  wondering  little  soul.  Then,  when 
there  shall  be  sufficient  maturity,  choose  the 
most  fitting  opportunity  —  one  when  all  the  cir- 
cumstances shall  be  most  agreeable  and  appro- 
priate—  to  pronounce  the  adorable  Name,  to- 
gether with  one  of  the  greatest  facts  in  creation, 
as  a  remembrance.  "  God  made  the  sun."  Let 
the  child  pronounce  these  words  after  you : 
"  God  made  the  sun."  He  does  not  know  yet 
who  God  is.  This  knowledge  will  come  in  due 
time.  But  the  supreme  Name  is  henceforth  and 
for  ever  associated  with  the  most  glorious  ma- 
terial creation.  God  made  the  sun.  The  first 
eternal  truth  is  written  upon  an  imperishable 
memory.  Here  begins  that  instruction  in  re- 
ligion, in  love,  in  devotion  to  God,  which  is  to 
consecrate  and  shed  blessed  influence  upon  all 


284  THE  FIRST  KNOWLEDGE 

other  instruction.  This  is  the  first  opening  of 
the  soul's  temple  for  the  Divinity  to  be  there 
enthroned  for  worship.  Henceforth  the  name 
GOD,  caught  by  the  infantile  ear,  will  pake  im- 
pression, and  especially  if  heard  in  worship.  The 
child  hitherto,  in  the  family  devotions,  may  have 
been  quiet,  and  as  if  seemingly  listening ;  but 
the  language  of  the  service  most  probably  slipped 
over  his  ear,  dropping  nothing  into  his  soul.  The 
holy  names  and  titles  were  to  him,  perhaps,  no 
more  than  the  most  insignificant  particles  of 
speech.  But  now  the  name  of  Him  who  made 
the  great  round,  bright,  beautiful  sun,  coming 
up  in  the  east,  surrounded  by  charming  colors, 
— that  name  will  mean  something,  will  be  thought 
of,  will  be  remembered,  felt.  How  -reverently, 
then,  should  it  be  spoken  in  the  hearing  of  the 
child  !  It  may  be  well  for  him  to  observe  that  it 
is  pronounced  with  some  nice  peculiarity  of 
tone,  separating  it  markedly  from  other  words. 
It  should  not  be  a  tone  to  touch  his  spirit 
with  any  thing  like  fear,  any  thing  disagreeable, 
or  any  thing  ever  afterward  to  be  remembered 
as  out  of  taste,  or  not  accordant  with  all  gentle 
or  grand  harmonies.  Let  there  be  no  nasal 
twang,  no  rough  or  peculiarly  odd  pronunciation ; 
let  there  be  nothing  which  shall  not  afterwards 


OF   THE   CREATOR.  285 

mingle  sweetly  with  the  very  best  melodies  of 
memory.  Sometimes  the  speaking  of  a  word, 
with  the  slightest  lowering  and  softening  of  the 
voice,  is  impressive ;  far  more  emphatic,  indeed, 
than  force  or  loudness.  There  may  be  again  the 
least  perceptible  pause  before  utterance,  so  that 
the  holy  Name  shall  stand  out  distinctly  from  its 
connections  more  than  the  other  words,  and  yet 
not  to  such  a  degree  as  to  cause  any  discordant 
and  inappropriate  hiatus.  Certain  persons  are 
able  to  express  humility,  reverence,  and  love,  all 
combined,  as  they  take  the  divine  Name  upon 
their  lips.  This  cannot  be  expected  of  all,  any 
more  than  that  all  should  sing  in  perfection ;  but 
all  who  love  their  children,  and  feel  that  they 
have  the  most  sacred  of  all  human  duties  to 
perform  toward  them,  can  strive  for  the  best 
preparation,  and  can  approximate  perfection  in 
proportion  to  natural  gifts  and  earnest  endeavors. 
There  will  come  in  connection  those  adjunc- 
tive  words,  signifying  the  qualities  and  attributes 
of  the  Divine ;  such  as  the  Almighty,  the  Most 
High,  the  Eternal,  the  Most  Holy,  Gracious, 
Blessed,  together  with  others.  A  child  cannot 
at  first  receive  the  full  meaning  of  these,  any 
more  than  he  can  take  in  the  full  idea  of  God. 
It  is  not  at  all  necessary  that  he  should.  As  his 


286  THE  FIRST   KNOWLEDGE 

mind  opens,  they  will  assume  larger  and  larger 
breadth  in  it,  and  deeper  and  deeper  meaning, 
taking  hold  of  the  affections.  All  these  epithets 
should  be  so  used  as  to  inspire  the  sincerest,  the 
very  best  devotion  of  the  soul,  the  fullest  rever- 
ence and  love.  Almighty  and  most  merciful 
God! — this  phrase  from  the  Christian  ages  often 
makes  the  commencement  of  prayer.  Infinite 
power,  with  infinite  tenderness,  is  attributed  to 
that  one  Being  who  alone  can  hear  and  answer 
prayer  to  the  uttermost.  How  should  such  an 
expression  be  consecrated  in  the  memory  and 
and  the  heart  of  a  child  ?  The  same  may  be  said 
of  other  sacred  phrases. 

There  are  the  human  appellations  of  the  Deity, 
more  home-coming  and  heart-touching  because 
drawn  from  the  analogies  of  the  home  and  the 
heart, —  Our  Father  in  heaven,  or  Our  heavenly 
Father.  Some,  perhaps,  may  prefer  first  to  pre- 
sent the  idea  of  the  Creator  under  one  of  these 
phrases.  They  give  to  the  child  at  once  the  idea 
of  love,  gentleness,  care,  and  protection,  as  far 
as  the  parental  title  already  stands  for  these  qua- 
lities in  his  apprehension.  But,  after  all,  this 
Being  is  unseen,  and  can  scarcely  be  compre- 
hended thus  early  by  these  tender  analogies. 
He  is  yet  a  mystery ;  and  I  should  prefer  to 


OF   THE   CREATOR.  287 

have  him  presented  first  by  a  new  and  mysterious 
name,  GOD.  The  term  "  father  "  can  be  applied 
to  many  all  around,  —  to  the  vile,  to  the  worst  of 
human  beings :  that  of  God  belongs  to  the  One. 
That  name  can  never  belong'  to  any  other.  Then 
let  that  one  Name  be  a  central  name  in  the  firma- 
ment of  the  understanding;  the  greatest,  highest, 
holiest,  best ;  even  as  that  Being  must  be  whom 
it  images  forth.  But  the  tenderer  name  of  Fa- 
ther, in  due  time,  can  be  easily  associated  with 
the  Divine.  In  conversations  about  the  loving 
and  beautiful  character  of  God,  he  can  be  likened 
to  a  Father  in  faithful  care  and  tenderness. 
There  can  be  easily  impressed  upon  the  child  all 
that  is  most  lovable,  and  best  suited  to  bring 
out  toward  the  heavenly  Parent  his  tenderest 
affections.  His  earliest  prayer  will  be  that  which 
belongs  both  to  infancy  and  age,  and  all  the  life 
between, — the  all-comprehending  one  taught  by 
the  Lord.  Though  the  word  "  God "  is  not 
expressed  within  its  compass,  yet  the  child  will 
readily  associate  our  Father  with  that  mysterious 
name  which  is  first  and  greatest  in  remem- 
brance. 

Besides  the  most  majestic  and  appropriate 
illustration  of  creative  power  and  glory,  various 
other  objects  in  nature  should  be  made  the  me- 


288  THE   FIRST  KNOWLEDGE 

diums  of  religious  instruction.  Perhaps  the  new 
moon,  as  it  appears  after  an  interval,  and  which 
is  not,  like  the  older  moon,  a  repeated  nightly 
spectacle,  might  to  the  infant  mind  be  one  of  the 
best  tokens  of  the  Divine  Power.  The  child  may 
hardly  remember  to  have  seen  it  the  month  be- 
fore. There  it  is,  the  delicate  crescent,  a  bright 
silvery  bow  upon  the  edge  of  the  golden,  mellow 
twilight.  It  is  as  if  it  had  just  been  created,  and 
placed  there  by  an  invisible  hand.  How  it  attracts 
and  fastens  the  little  wonderer's  gaze !  Let  it  be 
said  in  due  time,  after  the  first  great  impression 
from  the  monarch  luminary,  "  God  made  the  new 
moon." 

There,  too,  is  the  beaming,  melting,  richly  flow- 
ing evening  star :  let  its  brightness,  its  beauty, 
its  charmingness,  fall  into  the  tender  memory 
with  the  name  of  God.  That  is  a  most  touching 
instance  of  a  child's  startled  apprehension  of 
creative  power  expressed  in  a  sweet  little 
poem :  - 

"  Presently,  in  the  edge  of  the  last  tint 
Of  sunset,  where  the  blue  was  melted  in 
To  the  faint  golden  mellowness,  a  star 
Stood  suddenly.    A  laugh  of  wild  delight 
Burst  from  her  lips;  and,  putting  up  her  hands, 
Her  simple  thought  broke  out  expressively, 
'  Father,  dear  father,  God  has  made  a  star ! ' "  * 

*  See  "  Sacred  Poems,"  by  N.  P.  Willis. 


OP  THE   CREATOR.  289 

The  whole  starry  host  of  the  heavens,  at  a  rightly 
chosen  occasion,  should  be  made  to  uplift,  to 
solemnize,  to  fill  the  little  mind  with  the  power, 
majesty,  and  glory  of  God. 

But  the  earth  is  written  all  over  with  lessons 
on  the  goodness  and  greatness  of  the  Creator. 
There  are  the  flowers,  with  their  beauty  and 
fragrance,  whereby  to  express  the  blessed  name 
and  character  of  God.  There  are  the  birds,  all 
life,  motion,  and  music,  through  whom  his  name 
and  his  praise  may,  as  it  were,  be  sung  to  the 
delighted  ear.  Showers  and  rainbows;  the  forth- 
putting  verdure  and  foliage  on  field  and  forest 
in  the  spring,  as  if  an  invisible  worker  every  day 
did  more  and  more  for  the  watching  eye  to  ad- 
mire,—  these  also  may  lift  the  thought  toward 
God.  Little  purling  brooks,  and  great  sweep- 
ing rivers ;  the  soft,  green  hills,  and  the  blue 
and  grand  mountains  ;  the  dark  storm-cloud,  the 
swift  lightning,  and  the  thunder's  marvellous 
voice, —  should  all  be  made  to  tell  of  God.  But, 
if  these  mightiest  exhibitions  of  nature  should 
speak  in  majesty,  they  should  also  be  made  to 
utter  forth  the  divine  benignity  and  love. 

Few  children  are  permitted  to  look  with  their 
early  eyes  Upon  the  great  and  grandly  impres- 
sive ocean.  Let  such  as  are  vouchsafed  the 

19 


290  THE  FIRST   KNOWLEDGE 

spectacle  associate  it  with  Him  who  holds  its 
unsounded  depths  and  sublime  boundlessness  in 
the  hollow  of  his  hand. 

The  human  being  is,  in  his  first  consciousness, 
surrounded  by  the  divine  works.  They  are  the 
first  observed;  they  give  the  earliest  impressions. 
They  should  all  of  them  be  made  to  declare  the 
existence  and  chai^acter  of  God.  But  language 
is  to  be  used,  and  this  by  the  Parent  through 
which  these  works  are  to  address  and  instruct 
the  soul.  As  early  as  possible,  and  as  much  as 
possible,  this  language  should  be  that  of  God's 
holy  word.  There  are  passages  which  beauti- 
fully or  grandly  set  forth  the  divine  attributes. 
The  child  has  already,  with  his  earliest  utter- 
ances, consecrated  his  innocent  lips  and  his 
opening  soul  with  the  prayer  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Let  him  also  commit  to  memory  other  precious 
portions  of  Scripture.  Before  he  shall  have 
learned  to  read,  let  the  instruction,  parents,  be 
distilled  as  heavenly  dew  from  your  own  lips. 
How  it  will  fall  upon  his  soul,  and  make  it  mel- 
low and  fruitful,  even  as  the  paths  of  God  drop 
fatness  ! 

The  Old  Testament,  and  especially  the  Psalms 
and  the  Prophets,  abound  in  allusions  to  God's 
works  and  ways,  and  to  his  grand,  his  benignant, 


OF   THE   CREATOR.  291 

his  charming  attributes.  But  it  is  in  the  New 
Testament  that  are  found  the  most  inviting 
attractions  toward  God.  There  is  the  dear,  first- 
learned  prayer.  There  the  Eternal  and  the  Al- 
mighty is  more  particularly  presented  as  a  tender 
Father;  and  by  whom?  By  Jesus,  the  Son, — 
the  blessed,  the  beloved,  the  most  gentle  and 
compassionate,  the  most  winning  being  ever  seen 
on  earth  in  human  form.  Now,  why  shall  not 
the  child  commit  to  memory  numerous  passages 
from  all  these  sacred  inspirations  ?  With  your 
tender  invitations,  with  your  sweet  encourage- 
ments, with  your  own  song-like  lips,  how  much 
might  you  lay  upon  his  impressible  memory  before 
he  can  even  read  ?  This  will  shine  out  with  more 
and  more  meaning  as  years  increase,  and  will 
send  gleam  after  gleam  into  his  understanding, 
and  fervor  upon  fervor  into  his  heart.  Heed  not 
those,  who,  in  this  case,  cry  out  against  the  use- 
lessness  and  absurdity  of  words  without  know- 
ledge. How  many  lessons  do  children  study  at 
home,  overlooked  by  the  parent,  how  many  more 
at  school,  conveying  scarcely  an  idea  through 
the  hard,  unintelligible  terms !  and  yet  no  objec- 
tion is  made,  because  this  is  supposed  to  be  edu- 
cation. Is  not  religion  also  a  matter  of  education? 
and  must  its  length,  breadth,  depth,  and  height 


292        FIRST  KNOWLEDGE   OP  THE  CREATOR. 

be  the  only  science  which  the  young  intellect  is 
required  to  see  through  at  once,  and  thoroughly 
to  measure  from  side  to  side  and  from  foundation 
to  summit  ?  Let  it  not  be  asserted,  that  these 
instructions  from  the  sacred  oracles  are  pecu- 
liarly darkening  or  burdening  to  the  young  mind, 
when  so  very  much  else  is  imposed,  which,  in  sad 
reality,  is  dry  and  hard  and  dark  and  burdensome. 
It  will  depend  much  on  the  manner  of  communi- 
cation how  it  shall  be  received,  and  what  effect 
it  shall  have ;  and,  for  this,  your  affection  and 
wisdom  are  responsible.  It  belongs  to  you,  more 
than  to  all  the  rest  of  the  world,  to  make  known, 
to  the  little  ones  waiting  at  your  side,  the  glory 
of  God  as  declared  in  the  Book  of  books. 


THE  FIRST  AND  GREAT  COMMANDMENT. 


"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all 
thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength." 

WITH  what  cumulative  and  transcendent  force  of 
language  is  expressed  the  first  and  chief  duty 
of  man  !  The  simple  meaning  doubtless  is,  that 
he  must  love  the  Creator  more  than  any  crea- 
ture ;  he  must  love  him  supremely.  To  the  Lord 
our  God,  to  the  Giver  of  all  good,  to  the  Father 
in  the  highest,  belongs  the  strongest,  the  warm- 
est, the  most  continually  devoted  love  which  is 
possible  to  human  capacity. 

Of  all  the  commandments  of  the  Most  High, 
'this  is  that  one  which  should  be  most  thoroughly 
impressed  in  the  education  of  the  young.  The 
inculcation  of  it  belongs  to  the  heads  of  the  family 
above  all  other  teachers,  as  indeed  does  all  reli- 
gious nurture.  But  how  can  parents  invite  and 
train  the  child  to  love  God  supremely,  when  they 
do  not  themselves  believe  in  the  reality  of  the 
literal  command,  or  in  the  possibility  of  fulfil- 


294  THE   FIRST   AND 

ment?  Let  us  now  see  how  the  case  apparently 
stands  with  many  fathers  and  mothers  of  excel- 
lent repute,  and  who  are  regular  attendants  on 
Christian  ministrations.  If  they  should  divulge 
their  secret  sentiments,  would  not  the  exclama- 
tion of  each  one  be  something  like  this? — "How 
is  it  possible  to  love  a  Being  whom  I  cannot 
touch,  cannot  see,  cannot  hear ;  and  who  is  infi- 
nitely, awfully  great,  to  a  degree  unspeakably 
surpassing  that  with  which  I  love  my  own  near- 
est personal  relatives,  whom  I  can  see  and  con- 
verse with,  and  who  draw  my  heart  to  them  by 
attentions,  kindness,  and  an  undoubted  love, 
which  they  bestow  on  no  other  beings  in  the 
world?  I  can  entertain  a  degree  of  gratitude 
toward  the  heavenly  Parent ;  at  certain  times,  I 
can  feel  even  a  warmer  glow  than  this :  but  to 
love  the  universal  and  invisible  Spirit  above  ob- 
jects seemingly  nearer  and  more  personal  to  me; 
above  friends,  brothers,  sisters,  parents,  children, 
and  even  wedded  partner;  in  a  word,  to  love  him 
more  than  all  these  together,  as  seems  to  be  im- 
plied, —  oh  !  this  is  an  utter  impossibility.  It 
must  be  that  the  language  is  extremely  figura- 
tive, like  much  in  the  Scriptures;  and,  of  course, 
is  not  to  be  literally  fulfilled."  Surely,  judging 
from  appearances,  there  prevails  this  utter  un- 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  295 

belief  in  any  positive  ability  fully  to  obey  this 
great  leading  law  of  both  the  Mosaic  and  the 
Christian  dispensations ;  or,  if  there  is  not  a  cold, 
careless  unbelief,  there  is  a  palsying  despair  of 
the  duty.  There  is  at  least  an  excessive  indif- 
ference to  it.  In  this  condition  of  mind,  parents 
cannot  possibly  train  their  children  up  to  the 
Scripture  requirement  of  love  to  God. 

Now,  if  there  could  once  be  a  clear  under- 
standing and  belief  of  an  ability  to  love  the  Di- 
vine Being  above  every  other,  would  not  the 
difficulty  of  doing  so  grow  less  and  less,  and  at 
length  entirely  disappear?  Would  not  parents 
realize,  that  the  greatest  possible  favor  they 
could  confer  on  a  beloved  child  would  be  the 
development  of  this  affection,  which  is  to  become 
the  essential  life  of  the  whole  heart,  soul,  mind, 
and  strength  of  the  man  ? 

It  is  proposed  now  to  meet  the  case  stated  by 
showing  that  we  have  a  capacity  to  love  God  to 
the  degree  expressed  in  the  command ;  and 
that  the  language  of  Scripture,  however  strong 
and  superlative,  is  no  more  than  commensurate 
with  the  ability  of  fulfilment.  We  will  first,  how- 
ever, dispose  of  a  preliminary  case.  There  is  a 
very  large  number  of  people,  taking  them  as  they 
appear  in  the  world  around,  who  seem  thus  far 


296  THE  FIRST  AND 

to  have  experienced  no  degree  of  love  or  grati- 
tude at  all  toward  their  Creator.  It  must  be 
difficult  for  them  to  realize  that  they  possess 
even  the  feeblest  ability  in  this  direction.  They 
are  yet  to  be  convinced  that  they  can  love  the 
Lord  their  God  in  the  least.  We  will  first  meet 
their  condition.  In  doing  this,  we  shall  be  also 
better  prepared  to  convince  and  persuade  those 
who  are  partially  experienced  and  are  half-way 
believers. 

A  little  analogical  reasoning  will  conduct  to 
the  truth  wanted.  There  are  certain  objects 
around  us  here,  toward  which  we  indulge  affec- 
tionate feeling  with  different  degrees  of  intensity 
and  pleasure,  according  to  our  nearer  or  more 
remote  relation.  We  love  things  inanimate,  as 
country,  home,  and  possessions  therein.  Next, 
we  love  friends,  brothers,  sisters,  parents,  chil- 
dren, wedded  companion.  The  affection  toward 
each  one  of  these  is  different  from  that  toward 
each  other,  conferring  a  pleasure  of  different 
kind  and  degree.  The  feeling  toward  inanimate 
objects  is  unlike  that  toward  living  beings. 
Friendship  differs  from  the  domestic  loves ;  and 
these  last  are  distinct  one  from  another.  There 
seems  to  be  an  independent  mental  faculty, 
through  which  each  distinctive  sentiment  is 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  297 

exercised  toward  its  appropriate  object.  Each 
is  a  separate  fountain  of  happiness,  set  in 
the  heart,  and  open  to  a  perennial  flow,  if  we 
choose  to  give  it  tending.  But  in  all  reason,  in 
all  consistency,  must  not  another  love  be  added 
to  the  list?  Can  it  be,  that  the  infinitely  Benefi- 
cent should  endow  us  with  capacities  to  love  and 
be  happy  in  each  other ;  indeed,  to  be  attached 
even  to  things  without  life  ;  and  yet  leave  us 
destitute  of  a  capacity  by  which  to  love  HIM,  the 
Author  and  Giver  of  all,  the  soul's  own  Father 
in  the  highest,  the  best  of  all  beings,  the  love- 
liest of  all,  and  consequently,  of  all  beings,  the 
most  worthy  of  love  ?  Oh,  no !  He  whose  high- 
est attribute,  whose  innermost  nature,  is  love, 
would  certainly  crown  the  series  of  loves  by 
conferring  the  capacity  to  love  himself,  the  pri- 
mal source  of  love,  in  return.  From  the  analogy 
of  the  human  constitution,  therefore,  and  leaving 
out  of  sight  actual  and  individual  experience,  is 
there  not  the  strongest  probability  that  we  are 
endowed  with  a  distinct  capacity  appertaining  to 
the  Divine  Being,  whose  function  it  is  to  enter- 
tain a  special  and  a  peculiar  love  toward  him  ? 
Yes,  we  can  love  him,  in  some  measure  at  least, 
because  we  were  made  to  love  him,  as  we  love 
our  earthly  parents,  being  constituted  so  as  to 


298  THE  FIRST  AND 

love  them  in  return  for  their  affection  toward 
ourselves ;  or  as,  indeed,  we  love  any  relative 
with  affection  answering  to  affection.  Must  not 
the  mere  intellect,  which  acknowledges  a  perfect 
Creator,  perceive  by  these  analogies,  that  the 
human  creature  would  hardly  be  complete  with- 
out some  sort  of  capacity  to  love  him  ?  With  a 
consistent  view  of  human  nature,  the  man  who 
could  believe  that  he  had  no  ability  within  him 
to  love  God,  must  also  believe  that  something 
had  been  left  out  in  his  formation  which  ought 
to  have  been  put  in  ;  or  had  been  lost  out  of 
sight,  and  was  worth  being  sought  for  until 
found. 

We  now  come  fairly  to  the  all-important  ques- 
tion in  the  present  case  :  To  what  degree  are  we 
able  to  love  God  ?  Can  we  love  him  with  all  the 
heart  and  soul  and  mind  and  strength,  according 
to  the  commandment?  Can  we  train  our  chil- 
dren to  this  supreme  affection?  Have  parents 
this  supposed  excuse  of  inherent  inability  in 
themselves  and  their  offspring?  Let  us  again 
try  analogy.  In  the  several  distinct  relations  of 
life  before  mentioned,  we  naturally  love  the  ob- 
ject of  each  in  a  degree  proportionate  to  the 
nearness  of  that  object  in  the  series  of  relation- 
ships. In  a  well-trained  family,  the  affection 


GREAT  COMMANDMENT.  299 

between  brothers  and  sisters  is  stronger  than 
that  toward  companions  outside  of  the  home. 
The  affection  of  children  toward  parents  is 
stronger  than  that  toward  each  other.  The  love 
of  parents  toward  children  has  a  still  stronger 
hold  on  the  heart.  The  love  between  parents 
themselves,  as  husband  and  wife,  if  there  be  a 
true  marriage,  surpasses  all  other  feelings  and 
intimacies  between  fellow-creatures.  Thus,  as  we 
go  from  the  lower  to  the  higher  relations,  and  as 
the  connection  becomes  more  close  and  unbroken 
and  indispensably  necessary  in  the  constitution 
of  things,  the  more  intense  is  the  love.  That 
person  on  earth  who  is  the  nearest  in  relation- 
ship, in  place,  and  in  intimacy,  has  the  deepest 
and  most  thorough  hold  on  our  nature.  Now, 
apply  this  rule  of  order,  nearness,  and  intimacy, 
a  step  farther.  The  next  higher  Being,  and  the 
last,  with  whom  we  are  in  positive  and  certain 
relations,  is  the  very  Lord  God.  He  is  not  the 
medium  through  which  body  and  spirit  come, 
but  the  very  source  from  which  they  come.  He 
is  the  Framer  of  the  body,  and  the  ^Father  of  the 
spirit.  His  own  life  and  love,  wisdom  and  power, 
are  the  essential  origin  of  him  who  here  appears 
in  his  image  and  likeness.  There  is  no  relative 
in  the  universe  so  near  to  man  as  the  eternal 


300  THE  FIRST  AND 

God.  He  is,  in  absolute  truth,  the  everlasting 
Father.  Beyond  all  others,  therefore,  he  must 
necessarily  be  the  highest,  closest,  best  object 
of  the  heart.  If,  then,  the  heart  shall  be  con- 
sistent with  itself,  true  to  its  other  relations, 
according  to  their  degrees,  it  will  permit  this 
nearest,  this  first  and  eternal  Relative  to  possess 
its  love  to  the  uttermost. 

Still  further :  in  the  domestic  relations,  we 
ordinarily  love,  not  only  in  proportion  to  the 
constitutional  nearness  of  the  relative,  but  also 
according  to  the  opportunities  for  closeness,  fre- 
quency, and  continuance  of  communion.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  run  through  these  relations  again. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  heavenly  Father  is  not 
only  actually  nearer  than  any  other  being  in  the 
universe,  but  he  never  departs  from  this  near- 
ness if  we  would  but  recognize  it.  He  is  the 
ever-abiding  centre  and  support  of  our  nature. 
He  is  the  life  of  our  life,  the  inmost  spirit  of  our 
spirit.  Without  his  immediate  and  constant  pre- 
sence and  power,  we  should  fall  to  pieces  as  to 
body,  and  our  souls  even  would  be  annihilated. 
We  can  go  away  from  the  nearest  and  dearest 
earthly  friend,  —  the  earth's  width  may  be  be- 
tween us ;  but  we  cannot  go  away  from  God. 
Were  all  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  world  dead, 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  301 

and  myself  should  survive,  one  and  alone,  God 
would  be  with  me,  the  same  as  if  my  whole  race 
were  still  existent.  He  would  necessarily  con- 
tinue to  be  my  inmost  life,  my  own  personal, 
infinitely  loving,  heavenly  Father.  I  have,  there- 
fore, opportunities  to  commune  with  him,  such 
as  I  have  with  no  other  being.  At  all  times  and 
in  all  places,  he  is  with  me,  to  be  addressed,  to 
be  realized,  as  the  source  of  all  supply,  the 
nearest  and  dearest  of  all  friends.  I  have  un- 
ceasingly open  access  to  him ;  I  have  infinite 
opportunity.  Why,  then,  should  I  not  be  able 
to  love  him  with  all  that  intensity  of  feeling 
expressed  by  the  language  of  Holy  Writ  ? 

Does  not  all  analogy  conduct  not  only  to  the 
duty,  but  to  the  practicability  of  the  duty,  laid 
upon  the  faculties  ?  If  the  divinely  authoritative 
Word  commands  that  we  must  love,  an  utterance 
from  the  secret  depths  of  our  own  souls  responds 
that  we  can  love  the  Lord  our  God  more  than  all 
beings  beside. 

But  let  us  pursue  our  analogy  one  step  farther 
still,  and  we  shall  arrive  at  a  most  important  and 
crowning  inference.  Our  best  happiness  is  in 
those  loving  affections  which  we  have  been  tra- 
cing, one  above  another,  in  our  natures.  Spring- 
ing out  of  each  kind  of  love,  there  is  an  enjoyment 


302  THE  FIRST  AND 

less  or  more  in  measure,  according  to  the  lower 
or  higher  character  of  the  particular  affection, 
and  also  according  to  its  weakness  or  strength, 
or  degree  of  development,  in  the  individual  soul. 
Now,  we  have  seen  that  love  toward  God  ought 
to  be  and  can  be  the  supreme  affection ;  indeed, 
that  no  other  affection  can  approach  it  in  inten- 
sity and  power.  This  being  so,  then  high,  strong, 
and  absolutely  supreme  must  be  the  happiness 
flowing  forth  from  the  full  exercise  thereof. 
From  the  inmost,  the  mightiest,  the  sovereign 
love  must  issue  the  highest  felicity  possible  to 
a  child  of  God,  even  a  sovereign  blessedness. 

If  the  foregoing  course  of  thought  is  conclu- 
sive, there  must  arise  to  any  one  seeking  his 
best  good,  and  especially  to  the  parental  heart 
bound  up  in  dear  offspring,  this  inquiry;  viz., 
By  what  methods  shall  be  developed  this  regal 
affection,  through  which  the  soul  attains  to  its 
crowning  bliss  ?  If  we  have  any  adequate  idea 
of  the  rich,  the  glorious  object  in  view,  we 
should  be  a  contradiction  to  ourselves  if  we  did 
not  seek  the  means  of  attainment.  Considering 
how  we  toil  and  struggle,  and  wrest  both  body 
and  soul,  for  things  which  are  as  grains  of  sand 
to  a  kingdom's  diadem,  compared  with  the  in- 
heritance here  presented,  surely  not  to  be  awake 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  303 

to  the  worth  of  this  priceless  possession,  and  in 
most  ardent,  anxious  inquiry  how  we  shall 
secure  it,  would  indicate  that  we  are  either 
idiotic  or  insane.  Yes,  here  is  human  nature's 
utmost  possible  good,  —  the  blissfulness  which 
legitimately  and  necessarily  flows  from  the  in- 
most, the  deepest,  the  largest,  the  most  celestial, 
the  most  nearly  divine  capacity  in  our  frame. 
The  question  now  is,  How  shall  we  open  this 
capacity,  attain  to  a  blissfulness  which  more 
than  any  thing  else  verifies  to  man  below  the 
lofty  ejaculation,  "  In  Thy  presence  is  fulness  of 
joy ;  at  Thy  right  hand  there  are  pleasures 
for  evermore  "  ? 

As,  all  along,  we  have  found  an  analogy  be- 
tween the  particular  religious  affection  in  view 
and  other  affections,  shall  we  not  find  a  still  far- 
ther analogy  touching  those  means  of  develop- 
ment which  we  would  now  ascertain  ?  Not  only 
our  affections,  but  all  the  various  faculties  of  our 
nature,  here  reply  and  instruct. 

Our  powers  generally  become  stronger  and 
stronger  in  proportion  to  use.  The  body  and 
limbs  are  made  robust  and  sinewy  by  labor. 
The  intellect  is  strengthened  by  exercise  in 
study  or  in  practical  affairs.  The  elegant  tastes 
are  enhanced  by  cultivation.  The  conscience  is 


304  THE   FIRST  AND     - 

quickened  and  sharpened  by  culture  and  use. 
The  social  affections  grow  by  reciprocal  and  re- 
peated attentions.  The  domestic  loves  deepen 
by  ever-fresh  interchanges  of  tenderness.  We 
will  illustrate,  however,  more  at  length  by  a 
sentiment,  which,  in  this  case,  is  particularly 
appropriate,  —  that  of  filial  affection.  In  what 
manner  is  this  excited,  and  made  strong  and 
delightful?  Do  not  our  own  hearts  and  expe- 
rience most  clearly  reply  ?  It  is  by  being  con- 
stantly with  parents,  by  receiving  unremitted 
favors  from  their  hands,  by  associating  things 
given  and  acts  done  with  the  tenderness  of  a 
parent's  love ;  it  is  by  keeping  the  heart,  as  it 
were,  open  to  the  reception  of  that  melting  ten- 
derness which  flows  in  the  tones,  streams  from 
the  eyes,,  and  distils  from  the  whole  countenance, 
of  these  earliest  and  best  friends,  —  that  filial 
love  grows  and  is  made  strong.  A  good  child  is 
in  the  constant  exercise  of  filial  emotions ;  and, 
of  course,  there  cannot  but  be  a  proportionate 
development  and  sweet  satisfaction  of  the  filial 
heart.  But  suppose,  if  possible,  that  a  son,  ever 
receiving  favors  from  parents,  should  not  often 
associate  these  favors  with  their  tenderness ; 
suppose  that  he  should  not  care  for  their  com- 
panionship ;  had  as  lief  they  would  be  absent  as 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  305 

present :  would  this  son  love  his  parents  in 
any  degree  commensurate  with  the  affection 
and  the  favors  unceasingly  bestowed  upon  him  ? 
Certainly  not.  It  is  by  frequent  thinking  about 
and  feeling  toward  the  parental  benefactors  that 
grateful  love  glows  in  the  filial  heart. 

Finally,  none  of  the  faculties  of  our  nature  are 
felt,  none  are  a  source  of  enjoyment,  till  they 
are  directed  toward  their  appropriate  objects, 
and  exercised,  and  are  thereby  put  into  process 
of  development.  Now,  let  us  apply  these  analo- 
gies to  our  relation  to  the  heavenly  Parent. 
Granting  that  we  possess  the  strongest  native 
capacity  to  love  God,  must  it  not  remain  in  em- 
bryo, and  be  unfelt  like  the  other  affections,  till 
it  is  directed  to  its  proper  object,  and  is  exer- 
cised, is  put  to  its  intended  use?  Like  them, 
how  can  it  arrive  at  its  fullest  felicity  without  a 
conscious  and  close  intimacy  with  that  Being  in 
relation  to  whom  it  was  especially  implanted  ? 
Our  heavenly  Father  may  bestow  on  us  all  we 
possess  and  enjoy ;  on  his  own  part,  he  may  love 
us  and  pity  us  to  the  utmost  degree  possible  to 
his  infinite  nature :  yet,  if  we  think  not  of  him, 
care  not  for  him,  hold  no  special  communion 
with  him,  of  course  it  will  be  impossible  for  us 
to  love  him,  and  enjoy  the  blessedness  springing 
20 


306  THE  FIRST   AND 

from  this  love.  In  this  case,  like  all  the  others, 
there  must  be  use  before  there  can  be  develop- 
ment and  strength,  and  the  consequent  delight- 
ful results. 

We  have,  then,  the  all-important  truth,  that  it 
is  by  exercising  love  toward  Gfod  that  it  is 
strengthened  into  power,  so  as  to  become  su- 
preme over  all  the  other  affections  of  the  soul. 
What,  now,  are  some  of  the  special  methods  of 
cultivating  this  holiest  and  happiest  affection 
commanded  in  the  divine  Word,  and  confirmed 
by  the  very  design  and  structure  of  man? 

We  seek  the  methods  of  that  blessed  work  to 
be  performed  on  ourselves  and  our  families.  We 
would  love  the  Lord  our  God  with  all  our  heart, 
and  with  all  our  soul,  and  with  all  our  mind,  and 
with  all  our  strength.  What  sjiall  we  do  ?  First, 
this  object  of  feeling  being  ever  present  in 
the  uttermost  nearness  to  our  souls,  we  must 
cherish  the  consciousness  of  this  fact  of  nearness 
until  his  presence  shall  be  as  familiar  to  our 
minds  as  the  presence  of  parents  is  familiar  to 
children  in  the  native  home.  How  much  do  re- 
flective and  tenderly  affectioned  children  attri- 
bute to  faithful  parental  care  !  It  seems  the  very 
light  and  warmth  and  life  of  the  house.  In  earli- 
est years,  they  go  to  sleep  at  night,  and  leave  this 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  307 

care  yet  near  and  watchful.  They  awake  in  the 
morning,  and  it  is  near  and  watchful  still,  as  if 
no  rest  had  been  taken  by  it,  or  had  been  needed ; 
and  it  is  at  work  now,  as  it  had  been  from  their 
earliest  remembrance,  providing  for  their  wants. 
They  find  themselves  every  new  day  encom- 
passed by  love  and  thoughtfulness  as  by  the 
warmth  and  light.  How  tenderly  they  trust  and 
love  this  unfailing  presence!  Now,  just  so  should 
we  train  our  children  and  discipline  ourselves  to 
regard  the  heavenly  Parent's  loving  care.  In 
the  first  place,  he  gives  us  to  each  other  in  the 
dear  parental  and  filial  ties.  Indeed,  he  has 
distilled  from  his  own  bosom  into  our  bosoms 
those  sweet  mutual  affections  with  which  they 
continually  overflow.  Next,  he  provides  for  the 
family  wants,  through  the  products  of  nature  and 
the  strength  of  the  parental  frame,  in  a  manner 
without  which  we  should  all  utterly  perish. 
How  much  reason,  then,  have  we  to  feel,  to 
trust,  to  love,  to  rejoice  in  this  presence,  which 
pervades  and  fills  the  whole  home ;  this  Provi- 
dence which  neVer  sleeps,  although  all  other 
eyes  are  sealed ;  and  which  never  shuts  or 
draws  back  its  hand  ! 

Again :  there  are  the  divine  works  in  nature ; 
those    through  which    sustenance    and    comfort 


308  THE  FIRST  AND 

come  to  the  body,  through  which  instruction 
comes  to  the  understanding;  those  which  dis- 
play beauty,  grandeur,  and  sublimity  to  the 
admiring  sense.  If  the  works  and  gifts  of  rela- 
tives and  friends  remind  us  of  their  kindness, 
and  are  ever  exciting  grateful  affections  anew, 
what  should  be  the  effect  of  works  and  gifts  like 
these  ?  The  planets  fail  not  to  reflect  the  sun's 
golden  beams,  which  they  cannot  help  receiving ; 
and  why  should  not  we  be  equally  true  to  that 
"  Father  of  lights,"  from  whom  cometh  down 
every  good  and  every  perfect  gift  ? 

The  devout  Catholic  makes  his  prayers  one 
after  another,  according  to  the  beads  of  his  ro- 
sary, and  believes  himself  drawn  nearer  and 
nearer  to  his  God.  To  us  and  our  children,  cre- 
ation is  one  boundless  rosary,  to  lead  on,  and  still 
ever  to  lead  on,  our  hearts  in  the  grateful  fervors 
of  devotion.  Each  individual  object  not  only 
reminds  of  duty,  but,  by  its  special  formation  and 
use,  should  stir  us  to  new  emotions  of  adoring 
love.  It  is  the  rosary  of  the  Church  universal, 
and  a  gift  from  that  common  Father  with  whom 
is  no  respect  of  persons.  It  begins  with  the 
rocks  and  jewels  of  the  mine,  and  is  twined 
million-fold  through  the  kingdoms  of  nature 
near;  then  it  is  wreathed  in  burning  constella- 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  309 

tions  above,  and  thence  runs  endlessly  on  before 
the  eye  of  wondering  and  worshipping  disco- 
very; held  fast  and  for  ever  by  the  hand  of 
Him  of  whom  it  is  written,  "  He  telleth  the 
number  of  the  stars  ;  he  calleth  them  all  by 
their  names." 

In  another  place,  the  scriptural  presentations 
of  the  works  of  God  are  sufficiently  commended 
to  the  heart  and  the  memory.  Here  it  may  be 
useful  to  add,  that  the  poetry  of  our  native  lan- 
guage is  rich  with  allusions  to  the  divine  attri- 
butes as  manifested  in  nature.  Sacred  verse 
especially  abounds  in  such  references  as  incite- 
ments to  devotion.  The  training  of  the  young 
to  commit  passages  of  this  kind  to  memory  would 
be  among  the  best  benefits  bestowed  by  parental 
care.  Early  and  peculiar  associations,  and  an 
abiding  influence  with  which  many  doubtless 
will  sympathize,  induce  me  to  place  here  for 
illustration  a  well-known  hymn  of  Watts.  It  is 
one  of  those  which  he  entitled  "  Divine  Songs, 
attempted  in  Easy  Language  for  the  Use  of  Chil- 
dren." Indeed,  if  it  is  "  in  easy  language,"  and 
stoops  to  the  simplicity  of  childhood,  there  is, 
notwithstanding,  no  fulness  of  strength,  no  great- 
ness of  mind,  which  might  not  be  caught  up  by 
it,  and  borne  away,  as  on  cherubic  wings,  to  con- 


310  THE   FIRST  AND 

template  the  wonders  of  creation,  and  thus  be 
inspired  to  sing  the  power,  wisdom,  and  good- 
ness of  the  Creator. 

"I  sing  the  almighty  power  of  God, 
That  made  the  mountains  rise; 
That  spread  the  flowing  seas  abroad, 
And  built  the  lofty  skies. 

I  sing  the  Wisdom  that  ordained 

The  sun  to  rule  the  day: 
The  moon  shines  full  at  his  command, 

And  all  the  stars  obey. 

I  sing  the  goodness  of  the  Lord, 

That  filled  the  earth  with  food: 
He  formed  the  creatures  with  his  word, 

And  then  pronounced  them  good. 

Lord,  how  thy  wonders  are  displayed, 

Where'er  I  turn  mine  eye; 
If  I  survey  the  ground  I  tread, 

Or  gaze  upon  the  sky ! 

There's  not  a  plant  or  flower  below 

But  makes  thy  glories  known; 
And  clouds  arise,  and  tempests  blow, 

By  order  from  thy  throne. 

Creatures,  as  numerous  as  they  be, 

Are  subject  to  thy  care: 
There's  not  a  place  where  we  can  flee, 

But  God  is  present  there." 

Besides  these  inspirations  from  what  is  some- 
times called  the  "  elder  Scripture,"  there  is  an- 
other means  of  culture,  which  an  illustration 
may  possibly  present  more  forcibly  to  notice. 
Suppose  your  earthly  parent  to  pen  a  history  of 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  311 

his  life,  embracing  numerous  acts  of  care  and 
love  for  yourself,  for  brothers  and  sisters,  during 
infancy,  back  beyond  your  own  recollection  ;  and 
also  recording  his  various  deeds  of  kindness,  his 
admonitions,  his  hopes,  his  fears,  his  many,  many 
trials,  concerning  his  family  during  childhood 
and  youth  up  to  maturity.  Suppose  there  to  be 
an  account,  moreover,  of  his  generous  exertions 
for  many  others ;  of  the  part  he  had  taken  in 
great  enterprises  of  philanthropy  ;  of  his  en- 
deavors in  behalf  of  even  the  humblest  and 
remotest  race  of  men.  Besides  all  these  narra- 
tions of  facts  and  circumstances,  suppose  there 
to  be  intermingled  various  precepts  of  surpass- 
ing wisdom  and  purity.  Still  farther :  suppose 
there  to  be  interspersed  among  the  pages  poetic 
effusions  of  transcendent  beauty,  pathos,  and 
sublimity ;  effusions  such  as  would  take  hold  on 
the  heart,  and  abide  in  the  memory,  filling  you 
with  the  deepest  sense  of  a  genius  consecrated 
to  the  highest  and  holiest  aims.  Now,  if  a  me- 
morial, such  as  has  been  imagined,  should  be  left 
to  be  specially  perused  by  your  own  eyes,  and 
affectionately  kept  by  your  own  hands,  would 
you  not  prize  it  above  every  thing  else  which 
should  come  as  property  from  the  parental 
ownership?  Would  you  not  read  it  and  read  it 


312  THE   FIRST  AND 

over  and  over  again,  commit  much  of  it  to  me- 
mory, get  it  by  heart  ?  Would  a  sentence  or  a 
line  in  that  dear  bequest  escape  your  notice? 
Would  you  not  feel  that  your  father's  spirit 
lived  in  every  word?  And  in  your  repeated 
perusals  of  these  writings,  and  meditations  on 
their  contents,  as  some  new  and  precious  mean- 
ing should  open  on  your  apprehension,  would 
not  your  filial  love  kindle  into  renewed  fer- 
vency, and  perhaps  into  a  livelier  glow  than 
ever  before? 

Our  heavenly  Father,  through  his  appointed 
agents,  has  given  such  a  record  concerning  him- 
self. The  parallel  is,  of  course,  not  exact;  but  it 
is  sufficiently  so  for  our  purpose.  The  Bible  is 
filled  with  the  revelations  of  his  wisdom,  with 
the  instances  of  his  beneficent  affection  toward 
his  human  offspring :  its  lyric  and  prophetic 
pages  are  radiant  with  emanations  from  that 
light  which  is  inaccessible  and  full  of  glory. 
The  whole  varied  volume,  while  it  is  righteous, 
august,  awful,  in  authority  and  command,  is  also 
abounding  in  expressions  of  loving-kindness, 
tender  mercy,  unfailing  compassion,  and  long- 
suffering  toward  erring  children.  We  know  the 
sacred  contents :  they  need  not  be  farther  de- 
scribed. Now,  should  you  dwell  on  the  varied 


GREAT  COMMANDMENT.  313 

and  wonderful  writings,  so  lay  up  the  rich  trea- 
sures in  your  memory,  so  absorb  their  spirit 
into  your  heart  (as  you  doubtless  would  in  the 
previously  imagined  case),  could  it  be  otherwise 
than  that  your  love  toward  God  would  grow  pro- 
portionally intense,  pervading  and  blessing  your 
soul  with  a  heavenly  felicity  ?  "What  amazing 
providences  from  the  beginning,  onward,  all  con- 
ducting to  one  grand  result,  —  the  deliverance  of 
man  from  the  slavery,  degradation,  and  misery 
of  sin !  What  heights,  what  depths,  what  vast- 
ness  of  wisdom  and  love,  in  the  mission  of  the 
Saviour  Son !  And  all  this  for  you,  your  own  par- 
ticular self,  and  for  each  one  of  your  children, 
as  much  as  for  any  one  that  has  lived.  Oh  !  you 
and  they  could  not  hold  in  conception  all  this, 
could  not  realize  it  in  heart,  over  and  over,  yea, 
continually,  as  might  be  done,  without  a  love  to 
the  Lord  God  and  Father  of  mercies,  compared 
with  which  your  present  feeble  feelings  are  as 
our  spring's  chilled  and  tardy  vegetation  com- 
pared with  the  summer's  deep  luxuriance  of  ver- 
dure and  flowers. 

Any  opening  of  the  soul  to  God  in  affection  is 
a  worship  of  itself.  Every  filial  emotion  toward 
the  heavenly  Parent,  whether  expressed  or  unut- 
tered,  and  whenever  it  shall  arise,  is  an  approach 


314  THE   FIRST   AND 

toward  him.  It  is  a  coming  nearer  and  nearer 
to  that  conjunction  of  the  finite  spirit  with  the 
Infinite  Spirit,  in  which  alone  there  is  perfect 
fruition.  But  there  is  a  special  and  all-important 
influence  to  this  end  in  definite  and  stated  devo- 
tions. Let  us  now,  then,  more  particularly  con- 
sider that  increase  of  loving  piety  which  comes 
from  the  concentration  of  heart  and  soul  and 
mind  toward  God  in  regularly  recurring  acts  of 
worship. 

It  is  a  law  of  our  nature,  that,  in  relation  to 
our  friends,  the  more  we  express  our  sincerely 
kind  feelings  in  language,  and  more  especially 
in  friendly  acts,  the  more  our  affection  deepens, 
the  more  fully  does  it  possess  the  bosom.  The 
effort  of  expression  concentrates  attention  on  the 
object,  for  some  brief  time  at  least,  shutting  out 
other  things.  Now,  toward  God  we  can  per- 
form no  deed  of  charity ;  we  can  do  nothing  which 
is  of  the  least  benefit  to  him.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  general  obedience  to  his  laws,  we  can 
outwardly  manifest  our  hearts  toward  him  only 
by  acts  and  words  of  worship.  But  these  acts 
and  words  are  of  the  utmost  importance  to  our 
spiritual  life.  In  the  same  manner  as  expres- 
sions of  kindness  towards  friends  deepen  that 
friendly  love,  as  before  mentioned,  so  does  true 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  315 

worship  quicken  and  deepen  those  feelings  which 
spring  from  our  relation  to  God.  In  the  per- 
formance of  this  service,  all  other  subjects  being 
shut  out  from  the  mind,  the  religious  faculties 
for  the  time  are  in  earnest,  unhindered  action. 
They  become  stronger  by  the  exercise,  as  any  of 
the  other  faculties  become  stronger  as  they  are 
put  more  and  more  to  use.  With  this  view,  what 
encouragement  to  express  our  child-like  love  in 
frequent  acts  of  devotion ! 

First,  in  private  prayer.  Let  every  rising  day 
excite  a  lively  gratitude  to  the  unslumbering 
Guardian  of  the  night,  who  has  preserved  us 
from  harm  during  the  senselessness  and  help- 
lessness of  sleep,  and  who  is  now  the  strength 
of  the  frame  for  another  day's  activity.  Let  a 
Christian  poet's  fire  kindle  the  heart's  earliest 
offering :  — 

"  To  prayer,  to  prayer!  for  the  morning  breaks, 
And  earth  in  her  Maker's  smile  nwakes: 
His  light  is  on  all,  below  and  above, — 
The  light  of  gladness  and  life  and  love. 
Oh !  then,  on  the  breath  of  this  early  air 
Send  upward  the  incense  of  grateful  prayer."  * 

Again :  new  and  distinct  instances  of  providen- 
tial goodness  may  occur  during  the  day.  Why 

*  Henry  Ware,  jun. 


316  THE  FIRST  AND 

should  not  each  one  elicit  silent  thanks,  if  not 
loudly  ejaculated  words  ?  Should  we  not  thank 
a  fellow-mortal  for  inferior  favors  ?  We  should 
certainly  habituate  our  children  to  grateful  ex- 
pressions for  occasional  kindnesses  of  friends : 
why,  then,  should  we  not  habituate  them  to  a 
fresh  renewal  of  devout  gratitude  to  the  all- 
gracious  Friend  for  every  new  and  distinct  token 
of  his  goodness  ?  "  Seven  times  a  day  do  I 
praise  thee,  because  of  thy  righteous  judg- 
ments," saith  the  Psalmist. 

The  season  of  rest  again  returning,  let  there 
be  another  act  of  devotion  for  the  mercies  of  the 
closing  day,  and  for  the  felt  confidence  that 
the  same  omnipotent  care  will  preserve  now  in 
sleep  as  in  nights  before.  Let  the  Christian 
poet  before  quoted  aid  into  flame  our  evening 
sacrifice :  — 

"  To  prayer!  for  the  glorious  sun  is  gone, 
And  the  gathering  darkness  of  night  comes  on : 
Like  a  curtain,  from  God's  kind  hand  it  flows 
To  shade  the  couch  where  his  children  repose. 
Then  kneel  while  the  watching  stars  are  bright, 
And  give  your  last  thoughts  to  the  Guardian  of  night." 

There  is  one  simple  stanza  which  has  come  down 
from  generation  to  generation  in  the  religious 
training  of  the  family.  Millions  of  children 
doubtless  have  dropped  into  helpless  uncon- 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  317 

sciousnesa  as  this  passed  out  of  the  memory, 
yea,  out  of  the  heart  over  the  lips.  John 
Quincy  Adams  avowed  in  his  old  age,  that  this 
little  verse,  taught  him  in  childhood  by  his 
tender,  faithful  mother,  had  been  the  prayer 
with  which  he  had  fallen  to  his  nightly  rest  ever 
since.  The  chief  ruler  of  a  great  nation  could 
not  dignify  this  prayer  by  the  continued  use  of 
it  in  his  age  ;  but  the  use  of  it  dignified  him. 
He  who  humbled  himself  to  be  even  as  a  little 
child  was  certainly  exalted  by  so  doing  to  be  a 
shining  central  example  to  a  whole  nation  of 
fathers,  mothers,  and  children,  through  all  com- 
ing time.* 

Next,  there  is  social  worship ;  first  and  espe- 
cially, that  at  the  domestic  altar.  Friends,  do 
you  really  desire  for  yourselves  and  your  children 
to  grow  in  a  beatific  love  toward  God  ?  If  so, 
then,  as  families,  daily  unite  in  a  common  thanks- 
giving for  common  favors,  .and  particularly  for 
family  blessings.  Let  these  clustered  hearts  thus 
statedly  and  feelingly  express  a  pious  gratitude 
that  they  are  bound  together  in  kindred  ties,  are 
a  mutual  good,  and  are  enclosed  in  one  dear,  de- 
lightful home ;  and  this  service  shall  certainly 

*  "Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep,"  &c. 


318  THE   FIRST   AND 

nurture  that  holiest  love,  which,  as  itself  be- 
comes supreme,  shall  more  and  more  sanctify  and 
enhance  all  the  rest. 

Lastly,  there  is  the  public  worship  of  the  sab- 
bath. If  the  previous  suggestions  have  been 
appreciated,  it  must  be  perceived  that  the  ser- 
vices of  the  sanctuary  are  a  farther  and  all- 
important  means  for  the  development  of  religious 
love.  Here,  one  individual  at  the  pulpit  leads 
the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  congregation. 
Whether  they  follow  or  not,  this  common  organ 
of  utterance  proceeds.  The  more  faithful  the 
audience  is  to  this  guidance,  and  the  more 
effectually  adoring  love  is  exercised  and  deve- 
loped, the  more  speedily  and  certainly  will  that 
sovereign  affection  be  attained,  out  of  which 
is  to  spring  the  supreme  felicity  of  the  soul. 
Every  appropriate  word,  then,  either  of  hymn 
or  prayer,  should  be  heard,  and  its  import  felt. 
No  expression  should  be  lost  to  the  ear,  and  no 
meaning  to  the  heart,  any  more  than  should  be 
lost  on  the  learner  of  music  any  note  from  the 
intent  instructor. 

Let  the  duty  be  brought  more  closely  home 
by  an  illustration.  Suppose  you  have  a  son  at 
school.  Imagine  word  to  be  brought  that  this 
dear  child  neglects  his  lessons,  —  is  an  idler. 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  319 

You  are  surprised,  filled  with  regret,  and  hasten 
to  the  remedy.  You  admonish,  and,  if  need  be, 
tearfully  beseech  him.  You  make  the  most 
earnest  appeals  to  his  heart  not  to  neglect  those 
exercises  by  which  his  powers  are  to  be  strength- 
ened, and  by  which  he  is  to  be  prepared  for 
business,  for  respectability,  and  for  greater  en- 
joyment in  life.  You  persevere  till  he  reforms. 
But  oh!  parent,  give  heed  to  the  admonition,  and 
be  meek.  How  much  more  neglectful  and  guilty 
are  you,  perhaps,  than  this  listless  boy,  too  young 
to  appreciate  his  privileges  !  Are  not  you  your- 
self an  idler  in  another  school?  And,  what  is 
more,  do  you  not  set  a  pernicious  example  to 
your  own  child,  and  make  him  and  keep  him  an 
idler  too?  The  sanctuary  of  public  worship  is 
the  great  "  common  school "  of  the  religious  af- 
fections. Here  is  an  institution  whose  builder 
and  maker  is  God ;  and  his  gracious  providence 
has  brought  you  thereto.  Here  Infinite  Mercy 
has  appointed,  that  the  noblest  capacities  of  the 
soul  shall  be  developed  and  trained  into  glorious 
strength,  —  capacities  which  most  nearly  ally  us 
to  the  angels,  and,  more  than  all,  enable  us  to  hold 
communion  with  the  Eternal  and  the  Most  High. 
This  seminary  especially  provides  for  the  cul- 
ture of  that  loftiest,  holiest  attribute  of  the  soul, 


320  THE   FIRST   AND 

—  love  to  God.  Here  the  spirit  may  drink  of  the 
deepest,  fullest,  sweetest  fountain  of  good,  even 
"joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost."  Oh,  what  is  the  edu- 
cation of  intellect,  that  it  may  grasp  worldly 
riches,  power,  or  fame,  to  this  education,  which, 
in  the  present  life,  bestows  the  soul's  crowning 
felicity,  and  prepares  for  ecstatic  love  and  bless- 
edness in  the  life  everlasting ! 

"We  now  come  to  the  last  and  most  effectual 
means  of  developing  the  commanded  love  toward 
the  Lord  God :  ^t  is  prayer.  In  the  stated  de- 
votional exercises  already  considered,  —  those  at 
the  family  altar  and  in  the  public  sanctuary,  — 
this  particular  blessing,  nearness  and  love  to 
God,  would,  of  course,  come  in  with  other  sub- 
jects of  prayer ;  but,  besides  these,  the  indivi- 
dual soul,  feeling  its  own  needs,  its  own  faintings 
and  yearnings  for  the  highest  good,  should  alone 
lay  itself  make  earnest  and  continuous  entreaty 
for  the  direct  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit  toward  this 
crowning  attainment  in  the  religious  life.  Truly, 
if  assistance  in  any  case  is  vouchsafed  in  answer 
to  supplication,  it  must  be  to  enhance,  with  an 
endless  and  boundless  increase,  that  love  which 
is  the  supreme,  ineffable  delight  of  the  soul,  and 
which,  more  than  any  one  thing  else,  was  the 
Creator's  end  in  making  man  in  his  own  image 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  321 

and  likeness.  Of  all  bestowments,  those  belong- 
ing to  the  inner  man  are  especially  to  be  sought 
in  prayer,  and  are  most  bountifully  .received  in 
answer.  Of  such  favors,  nothing  can  be  more 
readily,  tenderly,  and  largely  given  than  that 
most  perfect  of  all  the  perfect  gifts  from  above, 
—  the  ability  to  love  the  all-gracious  Giver  him- 
self. What,  then,  have  Christian  believers  to 
do  but  to  ask  and  receive,  and  to  teach  and 
train  their  children  to  ask,  so  that  they  may  be 
as  richly  and  blessedly  answered  ?  It  is  indeed 
for  the  sake  of  your  children,  dear  friends,  that 
the  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  through 
analogy  the  highest  human  capacity,  and  to  pre- 
sent the  various  methods  of  development.  It  is 
for  those  you  hold  dearest  that  the  culture  of 
this  capacity  has  been  urged  on  yourselves. 
No  one  can  train  another  with  fullest  success  to 
love  that  which  he  does  not  himself  lov£.  It  is 
for  this  reason,  that,  in  this  special  topic  of  re- 
ligious education,  your  own  spiritual  improve- 
ment and  felicity  have  been  blended  with  those 
of  your  children.  If  you  have  been  addressed 
with  more  personal  directness  than  may  seem 
befitting,  if  you  have  been  preached  to,  it  was 
in  the  sincere  and  deep  conviction,  that  this 
"  foolishness  of  preaching  "  to  the  parent  would 
21 


322  THE   FIRST  AND 

best  induce  practical  and  effective  wisdom  to- 
ward the  child. 

In  closing,  permit  one  more  earnest  appeal. 
Oh  for  the  power  adequately  to  set  forth  the  im- 
mensity of  blessing  to  come  through  entire  obe- 
dience to  "  the  first  and  great  commandment "  1 
Let  all  that  is  beautiful  and  glorious  in  creation 
be  displayed  to  the  opened  and  enraptured  vision 
of  one  who  had  been  blind  from  infancy,  let  the 
mingled  melodies  and  harmonies  of  a  thousand 
music-choirs  steal  upon  the  unstopped  ear  of 
one  born  deaf,  and  the  ecstasy  of  delight  would 
but  feebly  illustrate  the  deep,  the  thrilling,  the 
ecstatic  bliss,  the  angel-like  joy,  which  comes 
from,  which  indeed  is  a  portion  of,  love  toward 
God.  Eange  through  all  the  mineral  kingdom, 
and  find  gems  such  as  royal  treasures  only  can 
purchase,  and  present  them  to  the  dazzled  vi- 
sion, to.  the  eager  acceptance,  and  you  offer 
nothing  of  such  transcendent  worth  as  this  affec- 
tional  crown  of  man's  whole  nature,  this  more 
than  regal  glory,  this  love  towards  the  Infinite 
in  love. 

Should  you  turn  your  child  out  among  stran- 
gers, should  you  disinherit  him  in  your  will, 
you  could  not  cause  him  so  wide,  deep,  dark  an 
abyss  of  privation  as  the  withholding  the  nur- 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  323 

tnre  of  this  greatest  and  strongest,  this  sove- 
reign of  all  the  loves.  A  child  cast  among 
strangers  might  find  hospitality  and  friendship, 
and  his  own  hands  might  earn  a  support.  If 
you  cut  him  off  from  your  estate,  he  might  per- 
haps be  saved  from  indolence  and  dissipation  by 
such  loss,  and  become  rich  through  his  own 
sufficient  energies.  But,  ah  !  who  can  open  the 
inmost,  the  deepest,  the  most  hidden  capacity  of 
his  soul,  like  yourselves  ?  Cold  strangers  will 
not  do  it.  The  world  does  it  not.  The  one 
hour  of  one  day  in  the  week  at  the  Sunday  school 
cannot  do  it  as  you  might,  —  you,  who  are  with 
him  from  the  first  opening  of  his  senses,  the 
first  thinking  of  his  intellect,  the  first  emotion 
of  his  heart ;  you,  whose  smile  brings  his  earliest 
smile,  whose  love  wins  forth  his  earliest  love. 
Yes,  you  yourselves  have  opportunities  to  show 
him  the  smile  on  the  countenance  of  the  High- 
est, and  the  love  which  lights  up  that  face  of 
Glory,  such  as  are  vouchsafed  to  no  other  beings 
in  all  the  universe  beside. 

Why  is  it,  that  with  such  a  capacity,  with 
such  countless  incitements  to  the.  unfolding, 
there  is  so  little  love  toward  God  in  the  Chris- 
tian world  ?  It  is  because  the  poor  child  has 
been  neglected,  and  by  none  comparatively  so 


324  THE   FIRST  AND 

much  as  by  his  own  father  and  mother.  It  is 
because  these  relatives  themselves  have  been 
neglected  by  their  own  parental  predecessors. 
Thus  the  spiritual  desolation  has  come  down, 
and  still  continues,  just  as  intellectual  barren- 
ness continues  from  generation  to  generation 
where  there  are  no  schools  or  books.  Just  as 
some  neighborhood  remains  in  vulgar  ignorance, 
BO  do  thousands  of  families  in  our  Christian 
civilization  remain  in  irreligiousness,  and  es- 
pecially without  that  inmost  and  best  life  of 
religion,  —  love  toward  God.  Just  as  some 
settlement  in  the  wilderness,  or  hamlet  among 
the  difficult  hills,  has  long  waited  for  the  en- 
lightened, the  progressive,  the  successful  in- 
structor, so  has  the  lineage  of  the  family  been 
waiting  for  that  parental  teacher  and  renovator, 
who  should  inaugurate  a  new  epoch,  a  new  life, 
a  new  joy,  to  those  of  his  name. 

Readers,  parents,  what  say  you  ?  Shall  "  the 
first  and  great  commandment,"  which  left  the 
Saviour's  lips  nearly  two  thousand  years  ago, 
and  has  wandered  so  long  amid  God's  children, 
and  found  so  little  obedience,  so  little  know- 
ledge of  it,  so  little  faith  in  it,  so  little  thought 
of  it, —  shall  it  strike  upon  your  own  line,  enter 
your  own  home,  and  you,  like  the  rest,  continue 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  325 

as  those  "  who,  seeing,  see  not ;    and,  hearing, 
hear  not,  and  neither  do  understand  "  ? 

Would  that  these  humble  arguments  and  ap- 
peals might  induce  some  to  feel  for  themselves 
and  for  their  children  that  longing  for  love 
toward  God,  that  thirst  for  a  union  with  him 
and  blessedness  in  him,  which  is  as  the  hart's 
panting  for  the  water-brooks,  and  which  is  well 
expressed  in  the  deep  pathos  of  a  prayerful 
hymn  !  — 

"  Oh  that  my  heart  were  right  with  Thee, 
And  loved  Thee  with  a  perfect  Jove ! 
Oh  that  my  Lord  would  dwell  in  me, 
And  never  from  his  seat  remove ! 

Father,  I  dwell  in  mournful  night 
Till  thou  dost  in  my  heart  appear: 
Arise,  propitious  Sun!  and  light 
An  everlasting  morning  there. 

Oh!  let  my  prayer  acceptance  find, 
And  bring  the  mighty  blessing  down': 
Eyesight'impart,  for  I  am  blind; 
And  seal  me  thine  adopted  son." 


Many  readers  will  not  need  the  analogical 
argument  which  has  been  presented.  It  is 
enough  for  them  that  they  are  commanded  in 
the  divine  Word  to  love  the  Lord  their  God 
supremely.  They  have  the  faith  that  no  duty 


326  THE   FIRST   AND 

would  be  there  imposed  which  they  are  unable 
to  fulfil,  although  as  yet  they  have  not  come  up 
to  the  mark  of  perfect  obedience.  Again :  they 
aver  that  the  experiences  of  thousands  of  Chris- 
tians bear  sufficient  witness  to  the  reality  of  the 
blessedness  which  comes  from  love  to  God. 
"  There  is  no  need  of  tracing  analogies,"  say 
they ;  "  there  is  no  need  of  reasoning :  here  are 
palpable  and  incontrovertible  facts."  But  even 
to  these  readers  it  may  be  replied,  that  the 
preceding  course  of  thought  may  be  of  use 
nevertheless.  There  may  come  upon  them 
dark  seasons  of  discouragement :  even  they  may 
question  whether  apparent  facts  may  not  be 
illusions.  They  may  be  tempted  even  to  the 
thought,  that  the  Scripture  language,  in  its 
mighty  strength,,  is,  after  all,  but  an  impressive 
figure  of  speech  ;  and  their  own  short-comings 
and  seeming  inability  to  rise  to  the  height  re- 
quired may  seem  ample  confirmation.  In  the 
state  of  mind  supposed,  will  any  one  aver  that 
our  analogical  reasoning  will  not  be  of  some 
avail  in  sustaining  the  sinking  spirit? 

Still  further,  these  friends  will  occasionally 
meet  those  who  distrust  all  these  avowed  expe- 
riences of  love,  and  consequent  satisfactions. 
Their  objections  occupy  so  large  a  space  before 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  327 

their  mental  sight,  that  well-substantiated  facts 
are  but  little  seen.  How  useful,  then,  to  the 
positive  believers  in  the  commands  and  promises 
of  the  Word  may  be  the  analogical  argument ! 
Its  thread  can  be  shown  to  the  doubter  to  begin 
in  the  hidden  depths  of  his  own  nature,  and  to 
run  thence  up  to  that  perfect  love  which  cast- 
eth  out  fear,  and  admits  only  joy  and  peace. 
All  truths  are  consistent  one  with  another.  It 
is  the  part  of  wisdom,  then,  to  meet  the  objector 
on  his  own  ground,  with  some  positive  truth 
fairly  acknowledged.  Thence,  if  candid,  he 
may  be  led  to  those  higher  and  more  interior 
views,  of  which,  at  first,  he  had  no  true  and 
clear  conception.  It  is  hoped,  therefore,  that 
those  who  may  not  need  this  analogical  leading 
to  the  truth  will  nevertheless  accept  it,  and 
apply  it  to  use  where  it  may  really  be  wanted. 

And,  now,  will  the  friends  whose  case  was 
attempted  to  be  met  in  the  outset  permit  me  to 
address  them  directly  once  more?  You  have 
seen,  how  that,  in  the  very  structure  of  your 
mental  constitution,  there  must  be  the  capacity 
to  love  God,  the  source  of  love ;  to  love  him 
more  than  any  other  being  can  be  loved,  as 
being  nearest  to  the  soul,  not  only  in  relation- 
ship, but  in  that  position,  as  it  were,  which  is 


328  THE   FIRST   AND  . 

most  favorable  to  the  closest  and  most  constant 
intimacy.  Why,  then,  will  not  your  candor, 
with  your  reason,  accept  as  positive  facts  the 
avowed  experiences  so  numerously  presented  in 
the  various  churches  ?  There  are  some,  who, 
in  their  perfect  sincerity  and  unsuspecting  sim- 
plicity, express  their  religious  fervors  without 
restraint,  whether  there  be  few  or  many  to  hear. 
It  may  be  in  rude  outbursts  of  prayer,  in  lan- 
guage unrefined  and  ungrammatical,  or  in  exult- 
ant song  without  melody;  but  all  this  is  no 
evidence  that  their  experience  is  not  real.  The 
jars  upon  your  refinement,  the  disgusts  of  your 
taste,  should  not  blind  you  to  a  principle  and  to 
a  deep  want  of  your  own  nature.  You  have 
but  to  extend  your  acquaintance  with  truly 
Christian  people  to  find  many  whose  hearts  fer- 
vently but  steadily  glow  with  the  greatest  love 
possible  to  the  soul,  and  who  possess  a  peace 
which  passeth  understanding;  but  they  make 
but  little  outward  demonstration.  Perhaps  they 
are  hardly  distinguished  from  other  respectable 
and  orderly  people,  who  are  altogether  below 
their  high  mark  of  Christian  attainment.  With 
them,  truly  the  kingdom  of  God  cometh  without 
observation.  It  comes  to  them  more  especially 
unobserved,  because  there  is  so  much  room  for 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  329 

it  freely  to  occupy.  It  is  to  such  believers  that 
you  are  invited  to  look  for  the  best  evidences  of 
joy  in  believing.  In  the  inquiry-meeting  and 
the  conference-room,  there  are  presented  every 
week  the  incidents  of  religious  experience,  could 
you  be  there  to  hear.  The  narrators  are  evi- 
dently sincere.  The  instability  of  some  of  them, 
the  returning  of  some  to  their  past  sensual  life 
as  the  swine  to  her  wallowing,  is  no  proof  of 
insincerity :  it  is  rather  a  proof  of  the  strength 
of  depraved  appetite  and  passion,  and  the  weak, 
ness  of  the  conscience  and  the  will  as  to  better 
things.  Besides  those,  few  or  many,  who  endure 
but  for  the  moment,  who  blaze  suddenly  out 
and  are  as  suddenly  extinguished,  how  many 
there  are  who  shine  on  more  and  more  brightly, 
even  toward  the  settled  and  perfect  day  ! 

As  an  illustration  of  a  religious  experience, 
will  these  friends  accept  the  following  trust- 
worthy statement  of  facts  ?  The  narrator  was  a 
personal  friend  of  my  own,  and  belonged  to  one 
of  the  most  liberal  Christian  denominations. 
His  profession  was  that  of  the  law ;  and  he 
seemed  to  carry  his  cool,  clear,  legal  habit  of 
intellect  into  theological  inquiry.  In  some  of 
his  views  he  was  indeed  quite  radical ;  yet  he 
was  obliged  to  acknowledge  the  evidences  of 


330  THE  FIRST  AND 

his  own  heart.  He  was  a  devoted  Sunday-school 
teacher,  and  gave  me  the  account  in  the  course 
of  an  incidental  conversation  appertaining  to  the 
matters  of  the  school.  I  may  not  repeat  the  ex- 
act language  of  my  friend  ;  but  I  give  the 
facts  correctly,  I  think,  as  I  recall  them  to  me- 
mory, at  the  present  writing,  after  an  interval  of 
many  years. 

"  Several  years  ago,  the  people  01  the  town  in 
which  I  resided  were  proposing  to  hold  a  four- 
days'  meeting  to  produce  a  revival  of  religion. 
I  thought  that  this  was  not  the  way  to  obtain 
religion,  and  I  very  earnestly  opposed  the  mea- 
sure. I  conversed  and  reasoned  with  my  neigh- 
bors a  great  deal  on  the  subject.  Nevertheless, 
the  meetings  were  held;  but  I  did  not  attend 
them  myself.  In  the  mean  time,  I  still  presented 
my  views  in  opposition  as  I  had  opportunity.  I 
could  not,  of  course,  but  think  a  great  deal 
about  God,  my  heavenly  Father,  and  of  his  cha- 
racter; and  read  my  Bible,  from  which  I  drew 
my  own  theology,  the  same  as  my  neighbors  did 
theirs.  At  length  came  the  sabbath.  I  did  not 
attend  meeting,  but  staid  at  home  alone.  My 
thoughts  were  on  the  great  subject  which  occu- 
pied the  people  generally,  —  God  and  religion. 
All  at  once,  to  my  utter  astonishment,  I  was 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  331 

taken  with  a  most  extraordinary  experience.  I 
had  a  sort  of  unaccountable  influx  into  my  mind 
of  love  to  God.  It  was  a  feeling  almost  ecstatic, 
yet  calm  and  still,  but  deep.  At  the  same  time, 
I  felt  a  peculiar  affection  toward  my  neighbors, 
toward  everybody.  Indeed,  I  experienced  pre- 
cisely what  my  neighbors  were  holding  their 
four-days'  meeting  to  obtain.  I  felt  what  I  did 
not  believe  myself  capable  of  before.  It  was 
an  approach  toward  the  fulfilment  of  the  com- 
mand, '  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all 
thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength.'  I  held  no 
more  controversy  about  revivals.  I  opposed 
them  no  longer;  for  I  had  a  revival  of  my 
own." 

Such  is  the  statement  of  my  own  personal 
friend,  whom  I  should  no  more  think  to  doubt 
than  to  doubt  myself.  He  made  no  comments 
on  his  experience ;  he  could  not  himself  explain 
it :  he  simply  offered  it  as  a  spiritual  fact.  To 
me,  however,  it  shows  that  an  earnest,  intense, 
and  continuous  contemplation  of  God,  the  open- 
ing of  the  soul  toward  him,  without  ceasing, 
from  day  to  day,  the  yearning  after  him,  the 
prayer  to  him,  will  accomplish  in  brief  space  for 
the  adult  man  or  woman,  hitherto  neglectful, 


332  THE  FIRST   AND 

tHat  which  ought  to  have  been  in  process 
through  long  educational  years.  But  from  this 
let  there  be  no  argument  or  excuse  for  neglect. 
How  few  there  are  out  of  the  multitude  of  the 
neglected  and  the  neglectful  who  come  at  length 
to  this  blessed  recognition  of  God,  of  supreme 
love  toward  him,  and  of  the  believer's  joy  1  The 
true  doctrine  is,  to  educate  the  child  from  the 
beginning  into  Christian  knowledge,  fajth,  hope, 
love,  and  fruition.  In  this,  the  aid  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  to  be  distinctly  and  emphatically  recog- 
nized. All  the  human  faculties  are  of  God's 
creating ;  and,  without  the  actual  presence  and 
sustaining  power  of  his  influence  every  moment, 
there  would  be  no  body,  no  mind,  no  faculties  at 
all.  Every  thing  would  fall  into  nothingness. 
In  respect  to  those  capacities,  however,  which 
have  immediate  relation  to  spiritual  and  to  hea- 
venly things,  it  seems  to  me  that  there  is  a 
direct  and  immediate  action  of  a  heavenly  in- 
fluence, or  of  the  "  Holy  Spirit."  The  truth 
may  be  illustrated  in  this  way  :  A  child  may 
admire  a  flower  or  any  other  charming  object, 
and  say,  "Oh,  how  beautiful!  how  I  love  it!" 
while  the  parent  has  but  a  distant  and  imperfect 
sympathy,  although  the  object  may  be  a  gift 
from  his  own  hand.  But  if  that  same  child  shall 


GREAT   COMMANDMENT.  333 

express  an  earnest,  deep,  and  most  tender  love 
to  the  parent,  and  this  directly  to  his  listening 
ear,  and  with  a  looking-up  to  his  own  bending 
countenance,  he  answers  back  with  an  earnest, 
deep,  and  most  tender  love  in  return.  He  can 
hardly  help  it.  The  inmost,  the  ever-abiding 
law  of  the  spiritual  nature  is,  "  Ask,  and  ye  shall 
receive ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find."  This  applies 
to  the  finite  relations,  and  it  equally  applies  to 
the  infinite.  Now,  the  child  is  not  able  of  him- 
self, without  instruction,  to  feel  the  affection 
toward  the  heavenly  Parent.  He  must  know 
him  and  what  he  has  done,  and  how  good,  how 
tenderly  kind,  he  is,  before  he  can  love  him. 
The  fixed  conditions  of  the  child's  nature  must 
be  regarded  in  the  higher  as  well  as  in  the  lower 
activities.  It  is  your  duty,  therefore,  parent,  to 
assist  your  child  in  his  religious  development  as 
you  would  in  the  discipline  of  the  other  several 
various  faculties  of  his  nature.  In  regard  to 
those  exercises  appertaining  to  the  highest  ob- 
ject of  affection,  there  will  be  at  length  a  con- 
scious meeting  of  spirit  with  spirit,  of  love  with 
love.  The  child's  heart  will  find,  as  it  were,  the 
heart  of  the  heavenly  Parent,  that  is,  will  be 
conscious  of  his  spirit,  with  an  unspeakable  joy, 
yet  all  in  perfect  accordance  with  that  divine 


334       THE   FIRST  AND   GREAT   COMMANDMENT. 

order  and  harmony  which  run  through  the  uni- 
verse. When  we  shall  come  to  understand  the 
laws  of  the  spiritual  creation  as  we  do  those  of 
the  material,  we  shall  say  these  things  must  have 
been  thus  in  the  very  necessity  of  things. 

Now,  I  believe  in  the  influx  of  the  very  spirit 
and  life  of  God  upon  the  young  soul  in  its  pro- 
cess of  religious  development.  If  the  child 
shall  be  shown  God's  works,  such  as  the  sun, 
the  stars,  and  the  flowers,  and  thus  be  made  to 
think  lovingly  of  the  greatness  and  goodness  of 
the  Maker,  there  will  steal  in  upon  him  a  secret 
heavenly  influence,  nurturing  his  germinant  af- 
fections. In  the  progress  of  culture,  as  God's 
works  in  nature,  and  ways  in  providence,  shall 
be  still  further  displayed  ;  and  especially  as  his 
tender  compassions  in  salvation  shall  be  made 
known ;  and,  still  more,  as  confiding  and  earnest 
prayer  shall  become  an  habitual  exercise, — why 
shall  not  the  holy  regenerating  Spirit  descend  in 
greater  and  greater  plenteousness,  until  there 
shall  be  a  growth  "  unto  a  perfect  man,  —  unto 
the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ"? 


THE   CHILD'S    FIRST  IDEAS   OF   JESUS. 


JESUS  CHRIST,  next  to  God  the  Father,  should 
occupy  the  child's  mind  more  than  any  other 
being  in  the  reception  of  religious  impressions. 
How  important,  then,  that  he  should  be  pre- 
sented in  such  a  manner  as  not  only  to  affect 
the  memory,  but  to  touch  the  heart !  Before  the 
child  is  able  to  read,  he  can  hear  and  understand 
about  Jesus.  Why,  parent,  should  you  not 
make  it  a  study  to  impart  to  him  his  first  ideas 
of  the  Saviour,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be 
engaging,  and  even  delightful,  to  his  little  soul  ? 
How  careful  are  you  to  be  qualified  in  every 
thing  appertaining  to  the  business  by  which  you 
live,  and  accumulate  wealth !  But  is  not  your 
first  business,  your  highest,  your  best  duty,  to 
educate  your  child,  to  bring  him  to  God  and 
to  a  heavenly  eternity,  and  this  through  Jesus 
Christ?  How  careful  are  you,  mother,  about 
household  affairs,  and  especially  the  comfort  of 


THE  CHILD'S  FIRST  IDEAS  OF  JESUS. 


your  children  !  how  anxious  that  they  should  be 
cleanly  and  tasteful  at  the  sabbath  school  and 
the  church  1  But  how  infinitely  above  all  this  is 
your  duty  to  the  child's  imperishable  soul,  to 
the  understanding  that  must  have  truth,  to  the 
memory  that  must  retain  it,  to  the  heart  that 
must  feel  and  be  moved  by  its  power !  It  is  for 
you  to  give  the  first,  deepest,  holiest,  best  ideas 
of  him  who  said,  "  Suffer  the  little  children  to 
come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not ;  for  of  such 
is  the  kingdom  of  God."  This  yearning  tender- 
ness has  flowed  from  that  heart  of  immeasurable 
love,  through  the  many  centuries,  a  living 
stream ;  and  now,  parent,  shall  your  own  heart, 
like  a  rock  in  the  way,  turn  it  aside  from  your 
child  ?  Or,  rather,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  from 
the  heavens  at  this  very  moment  sends  down 
the  holy  stream  of  his  grace  to  these  dear  sub- 
jects of  the  kingdom ;  but  it  must  first  fall  into 
your  own  bosom,  there  to  become  a  well  of  liv- 
ing water,  and  thence  to  spring  up  into  the  life, 
the  everlasting  life,  of  your  little  ones. 

A  personal  appeal  has  just  been  made  to  the 
mother;  but  it  can  hardly  be  said  which  parent 
is  most  sacredly  bound  in  this  momentous  charge 
of  the  earliest  Christian  instruction.  Let  both 
be  faithful.  Sometimes  one,  sometimes  perhaps 


THE  CHILD'S  FIRST  IDEAS  OF  JESUS.      337 

the  other,  will  have  better  gifts  for  earliest  com- 
munication. Let  Providence  order  which  shall 
have  the  precedence.  That  same  Jesus  said, 
"  What  God  hath  joined  together,  let  not  m^n 
put  asunder."  It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  this 
was  uttered  in  connection  with  the  beautiful 
incident  of  blessing  the  children,  as  recorded  in 
the  Gospel  of  Mark.  So  let  not  those  conjoined 
in  parentage  be  put  asunder  in  the  training  of 
their  common  offspring,  and  especially  in  that 
religious  culture,  which,  above  every  thing  else, 
is  of  momentous  import  to  the  child.  Both, 
therefore,  are  entreated  to  make  it  a  special 
study,  how  to  instruct  the  child  in  religion,  and 
especially  how  to  unfold  to  him  the  wonderful 
life,  works,  and  character  of  Jesus,  the  Christ. 
If  you  are  of  religious  habits,  your  child  must 
have  heard  you  read  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
Bible,  utter  his  name  in  prayer,  and  speak 
of  him  in  religious  conversation.  He  must, 
therefore,  necessarily  have  some  faint  idea  of  a 
person  held  in  reverence  and  love.  Various 
will  be  the'  impressions  on  different  minds  of 
the  same  age,  according  to  constitutional  capaci- 
ties and  idiosyncrasies ;  but  still,  at  some  parti- 
cular and  well-chosen  time,  you  are  to  impart 
the  first  specific  instruction  concerning  this 

22 


338      THE  CHILD'S  FIRST  IDEAS  OF  JESUS. 

wonderful  being,  the  Son  of  the  "  almighty  and 
most  merciful  God." 

Children  are,  in  general,  tenderly  and  deeply 
interested  in  infants.  Perhaps,  therefore,  the 
best  method  of  introducing  the  learner  to  the 
character  of  Jesus  would  be  to  begin  with 
the  circumstances  of  his  birth  and  the  condition 
of  his  infancy.  Let  the  account  of  Luke  make 
the  commencement.  There  are  the  shepherds, 
keeping  watch  over  their  flock  by  night ;  then 
the  coming  of  the  angel  with  his  good  tidings 
of  great  joy ;  next  the  sudden  presence  of  the 
heavenly  host,  and  their  song  of  praise  and 
glory  to  God.  On  how  many  millions  of  little 
minds  has  some  Christmas  hymn  deepened  the 
impression  of  the  Gospel-story  !  If  it  could  be 
given  to  the  ear  also  through  the  attractive 
melody  of  pious  lips,  there  will  be  an  added 
charm.  If  possible,  then,  let  the  story  come,  not 
only  through  rhyme  and  rhythm  to  the  little 
soul,  but  also  through  song ;  but,  if  this  cannot 
be  done  by  yourself,  you  may  at  least  softly, 
sweetly,  reverently  read  the  simple  narrative  in 
the  Bible.  How  glad  will  the  child  be,  when 
he  shall  be  able  himself  to  read,  to  find  with  his 
own  eyes,  in  the  book,  the  very  same  words 
which  he  had  first  heard  from  the  lips  of  love ! 


THE  CHILD'S  FIRST  IDEAS  OP  JESUS.      339 

Then  come  the  scenes  of  "  the  babe  lying  in 
a  manger,"  and  of  the  wondering  shepherds; 
and,  as  related  in  another  Gospel,  of  the  star- 
guided  and  worshipping  wise  men,  and  their 
singular  gifts.  The  various  incidents,  however, 
need  not  be  further  indicated.  There  they  are 
on  the  sacred  page,  for  the  little  soul  to  be  filled 
with  them  to  the  full. 

Wonder  is  a  mental  emotion  most  easily  ex- 
cited in  a  child.  He  loves  to  wonder.  How, 
then,  will  the  miracles  of  Jesus  lift  him  up  to 
thev  mysterkms,  the  incomprehensible ;  fill  him 
with  wonder  at  the  same  time  that  they  touch 
his  heart  with  gratitude,  with  love,  with  a  deep 
reverence  toward  the  doer  of  mighty  and 
marvellous  works  !  A  child's  sympathy  is  most 
easily  brought  out  at  the  sight  of  human  pain 
or  any  kind  of  trouble.  How  he  will  weep,  how 
he  will  stretch  out  his  own  little  hands  to  help, 
how  he  will  run  to  and  fro  to  get  the  assistance 
of  others,  when  there  is  some  sudden  exhibi- 
tion of  suffering !  Now,  take  advantage  of  this 
characteristic.  Can  you  not  make  the  child 
realize  the  pains,  the  various  sufferings,  of  those 
miserable  human  beings  Jesus  so  compassion- 
ately, so  tenderly  healed?  Can  you  not  portray 
to  his  mind's  eye  the  Divine  Healer,  self-pos- 


340      THE  CHILD'S  FIRST  IDEAS  OF  JESUS. 

sessed  and  serene,  as  knowing  what  he  had 
power  to  do,  and  yet,  with  a  countenance  of 
melting  pity,  bending  toward  the  sufferer?  then 
how,  at  a  touch  of  his  finger,  or  a  few  gentle 
but  commanding  words,  there  was  instant  re- 
storation,—  health,  strength,  rising -up,  and 
walking, — as  if  there  had  been  a  creation  anew? 
Can  you  not  then  make  him  realize  the  sudden 
change  from  utter  despair  to  the  intensest  joy, 
as  manifested  by  the  face  glowing  and  the  eye 
glistening  with  emotions  such  as  had  never  been 
experienced  before,  and  by  the  voice  tremulous 
and  almost  inarticulate  in  its  efforts  to  pour  out 
the  filled  bosom's  burden  of  thankfulness  to  the 
performer  of  the  wonderful  cure  ?  Can  you  not 
show  to  your  child  also  the  believing  and  sym- 
pathizing company  of  disciples,  and,  besides 
these,  the  great  multitude  of  common  people, 
astonished  and  awe-struck,  and  bursting  forth 
in  utterances  of  glory  to  God?  Parent,  there 
is  no  one  in  the  whole  compass  of  time  with 
whose  image  you  could  so  possess  your  child's 
mind,  memory,  and  heart,  as  with  that  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth.  He  transcends  all  others  human 
by  his  origin,  his  character,  and  his  works.  He 
is  separate  from  all  others  by  the  sacred  names, 
Son  of  man,  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  Mes- 


THE  CHILD'S  FIRST  IDEAS  OF  JESUS.      341 

siah,  Immanuel,  the  Redeemer,  the  Saviour  of 
the  world,  the  Lord ;  but,  furthermore,  he  is 
lifted  high  above  all  mere  human  nature  by  a 
mysterious  union  with  the  infinite  and  invisible 
One,  —  that  Father  in  heaven,  of  whom  you  must 
have  already  spoken  to  your  child.  "  I  am  in  the 
Father,  and  the  Father  in  me.  He  that  hath 
seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father,"  said  Jesus.  "  In 
him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily,"  wrote  the  apostle.  "  I  am  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  Beginning  and  the  End,  the  First 
and  the  Last,"  saith  the  Lord  in  the  Revela- 
tion. 

The  evangelical  record  of  this,  the  "  Wonder- 
ful," is  the  history  of  histories  in  the  Book  of 
books.  It  begins  with  infant  weakness  in  hum- 
ble poverty :  it  ends  with  the  ascending  Lord, 
to  whom  is  given,  as  he  declared,  "  all  power  in 
heaven  and  in  earth."  If  any  thing  that  was 
ever  told  or  published  should  be  treated  with 
the  educator's  most  studied  and  wisest  skill, 
it  is  these  events  and  circumstances,  handed 
down  by  the  first  Christian  penmen,  and  which 
Providence  has  laid  upon  parental  responsi- 
bility. 

The  little  human  being,  to  whom  all  the  world 
is  new,  is  of  most  easy  impression.  He  is  in  the 


342      THE  CHILD'S  FIRST  IDEAS  OP  JESUS. 

power  of  his  parents  as  in  that  of  a  superior  and 
irresistible  providence,  if  they  so  choose.  Why 
shall  they  not,  then,  forestall  evil  with  good, 
little  things  with  those  which  are  truly  great 
and  momentous?  Why  shall  they  not  make 
Jesus  Christ  occupy  so  large  a  place  in  the 
opening  mind,  make  his  image  so  beautiful,  so 
attractive,  so  sweetly  charming,  and  so  great 
and  glorious,  that  every  other  one  of  human 
form  shall  seem  in  comparison  small,  dim,  and 
utterly  insignificant? 

A  few  stanzas  of  a  lofty  hymn,  borne  upon  the 
strains  of  a  grand  old  tune,  come  echoing  along 
the  chambers  of  memory  from  loved  voices  heard 
in  earliest  years.  Let  them  have  a  place  here. 
Perhaps  they  may  be  caught  up  anew  in  many 
homes,  and  wafted  melodiously  into  opening 
memories  there,  and  go  sounding  on,  calling 
back,  ever  and  anon,  the  wandering  affections  to 
their  fealty. 

"  All  hail  the  great  Immanuel's  name ! 
Let  seraphs  prostrate  fall : 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all. 

Let  countless  angels  strike  the  lyre, 
And  low  before  him  fall, 
Who  tune  to  love  their  holy  choir, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all. 


THE  CHILD'S  FIRST  IDEAS  OP  JESUS.      343 


Let  every  tribe  of  every  tongue, 
All  creatures,  great  and  small, 
Loud  swell  this  universal  song, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all."  * 


*  The  hymn  has  been  somewhat  altered  from  the  original  in  the 
course  of  time,  and  the  improvements  (if  so  they  may  be  called) 
have  been  adopted  here.  Opportunity  is  now  taken  to  say,  that 
allusion  to  any  specific  doctrine  of  salvation  has  been  purposely 
avoided.  It  was  thought  that  the  object  of  this  treatise  would  best 
be  answered  by  general  incitements  to  love  and  honor  God  and  the 
Son,  to  which  none  could  object,  •  rather  than  by  any  sectarian 
peculiarities.  It  is  supposed,  however,  that  the  quotations  from 
Scripture,  such  as  here  introduced,  would  be  acceptable  to  all 
denominations,  each  one  making  its  own  interpretation  as  to  the 
pre-eminence  signified. 


THE    BIBLE. 


OP  all  the  books  in  the  world,  that  which  your 
child  should  love  most  is  the  Bible.  He  should 
not  only  reverence  it,  but  he  should  have  for  it 
a  profound  affection.  As  you  would  seek  the 
best  interests  of  your  child,  as  you  would  have 
the  ROCK  which  is  ever  higher  than  he  always 
in  sight,  through  all  the  storms  of  temptation, 
the  mists  of  false  doctrine,  and  the  darkness  of 
depravity,  take  care  how  you  show  to  him,  and 
keep  before  him  from  the  earliest,  the  word  of 
God. 

There  are  some  observances,  in  regard  to  the 
mere  keeping  of  the  Book,  which  might  have  a 
salutary  effect  on  the  mind.  The  large  family 
Bible  should  be  kept  in  some  particular  place 
assigned:  it  should  never  lie  carelessly  about 
here  or  there  in  the  dust,  like  any  other  ordinary 
publication  of  the  passing  times.  I  would  even 
here  have  a  case  or  cabinet  made  for  it  pur- 
posely, —  a  tabernacle  you  may  call  it,  if  you  so 


THE   BIBLE.  345 

please,  —  with  glass  in  the  door,  through  which 
the  volume  could  be  seen,  separate  from  all 
other  volumes.  This  tabernacle  should  be  placed 
in  the  family-room,  where  it  could  be  looked  up 
to  with  reverence,  even  as  the  Israelites  looked 
toward  the  tabernacle  within  which  abode  the 
Shechinah  of  Jehovah.  From  this,  every  morn- 
ing and  evening,  the  Word  should  be  taken  and 
read  by  the  father-priest  amid  the  assemblage 
of  his  beloved.  Then  prayers  should  be  made 
as  if  inspiration,  winging  the  soul  upward,  had 
been  caught  from  its  sacred  pages.  Let  each 
child  have  a  care  that  his  own  Bible  (for  he 
should  have  one),  appropriated  to  his  private 
use,  shall  be  kept  with  the  utmost  regard  to 
neatness.  Let  the  sacred  volume  be  always 
spoken  of  with  respect ;  yes,  with  reverejice. 

Never  associate  with  any  passage  of  the  holy 
Word  any  ludicrous  incident.  Never  suffer,  if 
you  can  possibly  help  it,  any  person,  no  matter 
how  old  in  years  or  high  in  position,  to  narrate 
a  laughable  mistake  or  blunder  made  by  some 
one  in  reading  the  Bible.  Such  an  anecdote, 
once  falling  upon  the  receptive  mind  of  a  childv 
will  hardly  be  cleansed  out  of  memory  in  this 
life :  it  may  not  be  in  the  life  to  come.  He  who 
thus  defiles  a  child's  memory,  commits  an  abomi- 


346  THE  BIBLE. 

nation  in  the  holiest  temple  of  religion  upon 
earth,  even  in  that  soul  whose  builder  and  maker 
is  God.  FOJF  myself,  I  should  rather  have  the 
adornments  of  my  house  defaced,  my  windows 
broken,  my  very  garments  wrested  from  my 
children's  backs  by  ruffians,  than  to  have  a  cour- 
teous friend,  in  the  agreeable  interchanges  of 
conversation,  associate,  as  I  have  known  it  hap- 
pen, the  ludicrous  and  the  laughable  with  God's 
holy  and  eternal  truth. 

We  now  return  to  the  question,  How  shall  the 
child  be  made  to  love  the  Bible  ?  There  will  be 
a  constitutional  difference  between  one  child  and 
another  which  may  help  or  hinder  an  interest. 
There  are  children  who  will  love  to  read,  or 
hear  you  read,  those  mysterious  things  which 
even  you  yourself  do  not  understand.  There  are 
those  who  will  read  the  wonderful  Apocalypse 
with  a  deep  fascination.  The  majority,  however, 
probably,  would  not  thus  be  interested.  You 
must  find  out  what  the  peculiar  taste  is,  and  the 
accessible  point.  Children  delight  in  narrative : 
read  to  them  an  account  of  the  miracles  of  Jesus, 
also  the  parables.  Read  the  story  of  Joseph, 
and  other  touching  things  in  the  Old  Testament. 
Read  whatever  they  love  to  hear  about.  Do  not 
read  a  great  deal  at  a  time.  It  is  better  that 


THE  BIBLE.  347 

your  exercise  should  stop  before  the  interest  at 
all  subsides,  than  continue  beyond  it.  As  yon 
proceed,  make  explanations.  If  your  heart  is  in 
the  work  of  your  child's  education,  you  will  find 
yourself  able  to  do  this,  and  you  will  grow  in 
ability.  Be  careful  that  your  child  shall  remem- 
ber no  severe  language  or  harsh  disposition  of 
your  own  in  connection  with  your  Bible-read- 
ing. When  he  shall  think  of  the  Bible,  let  it  be 
mostly  as  of  the  heavenly  Father,  and  the  loving 
Jesus,  and  the  beautiful  angels,  and  of  good  men ; 
or,  if  he  must  think  of  bad  men,  let  it  be  as  of 
those  whom  the  loving  Father  and  the  blessed 
influences  of  the  blessed  Book  would  have  made 
better.  If  you  shall  be  judicious,  you  can  in- 
duce him  to  commit  to  memory,  in  the  course  of 
years,  a  large  portion  of  the  sacred  writings, 
without  the  feeling  of  an  unpleasant  task.  Some 
of  the  beautiful  narratives  in  the  Gospels,  also 
the  parables,  and  very  many  of  the  precepts, 
might  be  stored  up  in  mind.  Indeed,  the  whole 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  might  be  thus  treasured 
up.  The  Psalms  particularly,  or  selections  there- 
from, and  also  from  the  Prophets,  might  be  com- 
mitted to  memory,  especially  such  portions  as 
are  adapted  to  be  chanted  in  religious  worship. 
If  there  is  any  one  thing  which  is  now  wanted 


348  THE  BIBLE. 

as  a  new  feature  in  religious  education,  it  is  the 
training  of  children  to  chant  the  holy  Word. 
Let  the  older  members  of  the  family  learn  to 
chant.  Those  yet  quite  too  young  to  do  it  can 
sing  in  the  spirit ;  and  perhaps  their  own  little 
voices  will  drop  into  the  broad  stream  of  melo- 
dies as  they  find  the  Word  thus  sweetly  falling 
on  their  ear  from  other  lips.  Could  the  sacred 
language  float  to  their  hearing  at  church  from 
the  choir  and  the  congregation,  how  easily  could 
they  then  be  led  to  commit  to  memory  the  words 
which  had  been  made  charmingly  melodious  1 
Some  very  strenuously  object  to  children's  learn- 
ing by  rote  what  they  do  not  understand.  Hence 
they  would  have  only  those  simple  and  practical 
precepts  committed  to  memory  which  shall  be 
at  the  time  altogether  intelligible.  But  the 
Sacred  Scriptures,  in  their  origin,  import,  and 
use,  can  bear  no  comparison  with  school  text- 
books, in  which  dry  terms  and  rules  are  gene- 
rally so  distasteful.  These  mainly  have  to  do 
with  the  bare  intellect.  The  Scriptures  concern 
not  so  much  the  head  as  the  heart.  At  first, 
indeed,  the  intellect  merely  may  be  engaged  in 
memorizing,  because  the  understanding  is  not 
yet  able  to  present  the  selected  passages  to  the 
affections ;  but,  even  in  these  cases,  the  parental 


THE   BIBLE.  349 

givers  and  hearers  of  the  lesson  may  distil  their 
own  hearts  like  dew  upon  it,  thus  making  it  of 
easy  and  sweet  acceptance.  They  can  tell  the 
learner  of  its  hidden  riches,  which  shall  come 
forth  to  sight  at  a  maturer  age  as  come  the 
green  blades  and  the  grain  from  seed  buried  in 
the  soft  mould  of  the  ground. 

Some  of  the  Bible  names,  though  not  at  first 
signifying  much  to  the  young  mind,  still  have 
a  beauty  about  them,  which  will  make  them  a 
blessing  to  the  memory,  without  any  burden. 
This  is  peculiarly  true  of  a  few  geographical 
names ;  such  as  Judsea,  Jerusalem,  Zion,  Bethle- 
hem, Sharon,  Hermon,  Tabor,  Carmel,  Lebanon, 
and  others.  There  is  melody  in  the  very  sound. 
How  many  of  these  names  are  woven  into  spi- 
ritual song,  to  charm  the  sense,  if  not  to  soften 
or  uplift  the  Spirit !  But  it  is  supposed  that 
these  Scripture  names  have  a  specific  meaning, 
which  made  them  peculiarly  appropriate  in  their 
first  application  to  objects.  Could  these  pristine 
significations  be  found,  as  at  some  future  period 
they  may  be,  how  then  would  these  beautiful 
words,  and  indeed  many  other  names  of  holy 
writ,  open  like  a  rich  fruitage  from  those  re- 
ceptacles of  memory  where  they  have  been 
dropped ! 


350  THE  BIBLE. 

I  believe  myself  that  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures 
is  the  inspiration  of  God,  and  that  the  very 
angels  draw  near  as  it  is  read,  and  especially  as 
it  is  read  by  children.  Their  evil  affections  are 
less  developed  than  those  of  adults  ;  they  are  yet 
in  comparative  innocency ;  so  that  the  good  an- 
gels can  come  nearer,  or  rather  angels  have  not 
yet  been  discouraged,  and  compelled  to  go 
away. 

Children  now  are  trained  from  their  earliest 
ability  of  voice  and  tune  to  sing  and  perform 
hymns  adapted  to  their  age.  Soon  they  are  able 
to  join  in  the  congregational  singing  at  church. 
Indeed,  a  large  portion  of  the  hymns  sung  in 
ordinary  worship  are  intelligible  to  children,  so 
that  they  can  sing  with  the  spirit  and  under- 
standing also.  Why  shall  they  not  also  be 
taught  to  chant  the  inspired  Word  ?  With  this 
engaging  accompaniment,  how  easily  would  they 
commit  to  memory  devotional  parts  of  the  Psalms 
and  the  Prophets  !  These  would  be  a  richer 
treasure  to  their  memories  than  volumes  of  the 
profane  poetry  of  the  world.  There  is  no  ob- 
jection to  reading,  and  committing  to  memory, 
the  pure  productions  of  genius,  whether  of  prose 
or  poetry ;  but,  beside  all  these,  like  the  vital 
fluid  in  the  body,  or  a  finer  essence  within  this, 


THE   BIBLE.  351 

there  should  be  the  divine  Word  in  memory  and 
heart.  Its  truths  should  be  the  vitalizing  es- 
sence of  all  other  knowledge  and  literature. 
Those  not  experienced  have  no  possible  concep- 
tion of  the  spiritual,  living  influences  from  the 
word  of  God. 

One  reason  why  parents  set  so  little  value  on 
the  Scripturea,  for  themselves  and  their  children, 
is  because  they  have  no  conception  of  the  virtue, 
the  power,  which  go  forth  from  them.  They 
look  upon  them  as  they  look  upon  other  writ- 
ings, estimating  them  according  to  their  notions 
of  external  and  artistic  beauty,  or  the  evidences 
of  their  historic  authenticity  and  genuineness. 
They  have  no  idea  of  the  living  spirit  which 
ever  abides  with  and  moves  these  cloudy  and 
multiform  chariots  of  language.  A  fact  will 
best  illustrate  the  sweet,  the  heavenly  influences 
of  the  Word.  One  well  known  to  the  writer, 
between  whose  home  and  whose  business  lay  a 
tract  of  naked  ground,  rough  and  unsightly, 
together  with  streets  occupied  by  the  uncleanly 
abodes  of  a  foreign  population,  their  untidy 
children  prominent  and  noisy  along  the  thresh- 
olds, adopted  the  following  method  of  using  the 
time  of  his  daily  travel  to  his  employment.  He 
copied  upon  little  cards  portions  of  the  Psalms 


352  THE   BIBLE. 

and  Prophets.  These  he  committed  to  memory 
on  his  way.  He  avers  that  the  unsightly  things 
which  before  pained  his  eye  as  he  passed,  were 
now,  as  it  were,  shut  out  of  sight ;  and  the  dis- 
tance was  hardly  thought  of.  His  feet  seemed 
almost  to  be  lifted  up,  and  wings  given  to  his 
body,  as  he  now  went  to  his  day's  duties.  It 
was  the  sweet,  delicious  influence  from  the  Word 
that  lifted  him  up  and  bore  him  along.  He 
walked  through  heavenly  scenes  now,  rather 
than  along  the  rude,  disorderly,  disagreeable 
ways  of  ignorance,  poverty,  and  sin.  This  fact 
will  illustrate  the  power  that  may  be  exercised 
by  God's  word  through  all  the  hard,  rough  pas- 
sages of  human  life.  It  is  for  you,  parents,  to 
say  whether  your  children  shall  have  such  com- 
fort, such  consolation,  such  inspiration,  or  not. 
Indeed,  however  easy  may  be  their  lot,  however 
calm  their  life's  journey,  passages  from  the  Word 
treasured  in  memory  will  be  lights  along  the 
way  to  cheer  and  bless ;  clear  shinings,  such  as 
cannot  be  estimated  by  those  who  themselves 
have  had  no  experience. 

There  are  many  lonely  hours  which  can  be 
alleviated  by  no  human  companionship,  when  no 
book  is  at  hand,  and  when  outward  objects  have 
no  interest  to  the  eye.  At  these  times,  if  the 


THE   BIBLE.  353 

memory  shall  be  well  stored  with  the  riches  of 
knowledge,  there  will  be  resources  which  out- 
ward circumstances,  unless  they  shall  be  quite 
painful,  cannot  diminish  or  dim.  Many  a  wake- 
ful hour  on  the  bed  at  night  might  be  made 
devout  with  worship,  and  bring  the  angels  sweet- 
ly into  fellowship,  by  the  perusal  of  Psalm  or 
Gospel  written  on  the  memory.  Sleep  might 
come,  and  catch  the  spirit  from  the  midst  of  holy 
writ,  and  bear  it  in  vision  to  angelic  scenes  and 
to  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus.  Such  things 
have  been,  and  they  may  always  be,  under  simi- 
lar blessed  conditions.  But  in  the  season  of  sick- 
ness, the  body  prostrate,  the  hands  strengthless, 
and  the  eye  foiling,  then  how  might  the  trea- 
sured Word  flow  like  a  river  of  life  from  the 
memory  out  into  the  heart,  bearing  a  refresh- 
ment and  a  dewy  peace,  compared  with  which 
all  the  geniuses  and  literatures  of  the  world 
would  be  but  as  a  parching  drought ! 

There  may  be  passages  from  the  beautiful 
literature  of  one's  own  language  or  the  ancient 
classics,  which  the  mind  may  run  over  in  these 
hours,  and  bring  up  freshly  to  view  ;  but  all 
such  choice  selections  meet  the  mind's  eye 
generally  with  the  effect  to  present  external 
beauty,  artistic  excellence.  They  are  gazed 

23 


354  THE   BIBLE. 

upon,  as  it  were,  like  a  picture,  a  statue,  fair 
and  perfect,  but,  comparatively  at  least,  cold 
and  lifeless.  They  afford  but  little  life,  power, 
efficiency,  to  the  soul.  Indeed,  how  few  there 
are,  even  of  those  liberally  educated  or  highly 
cultivated,  who  resort  systematically  to  historic, 
poetic,  and  classic  remembrances  to  relieve  the 
tedium  of  lonely  hours  !  How  different  it  is,  or 
might  be,  with  the  treasuring-up  of  God's  va- 
rious Word  in  the  memory  !  In  the  first  place, 
the  Scripture  itself  makes  it  a  duty  to  think  of 
God  ;  to  have  him  in  mind  before  all  other  beings. 
In  the  next  place,  this  very  Scripture,  rightly 
understood,  will  show  that  this  having  God  in 
mind,  this  consciousness  of  him,  will  be  the 
source  of  the  highest  possible  felicity  to  the 
soul.  Next,  the  very  Word  itself  will  be 
the  very  best  possible  medium  of  receiving  the 
idea  of  God,  and  of  being  filled  with  a  full  con- 
sciousness of  his  character,  and  with  a  love  for 
him  as  a  Father,  as  the  most  tenderly  loving 
being  in  the  universe ;  and,  finally,  there  will 
come  with  this  Word,  as  it  is  committed  to  me- 
mory, a  sweet  influence,  a  delicious  influx,  from 
God  himself  or  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  none  but 
those  who  have  experienced  can  know. 

As  early  as  good  judgment  will  allow,  and 


THE   BIBLE.  355 

continuously,  let  your  child's  memory  be  stored 
with  these  riches,  which  never  take  wings  ex- 
cept to  bear  their  possessor  heavenward,  and 
which  no  man,  nor  all  the  world  together,  can 
take  away.  Although  he  may  be  learned  in  all 
the  lore  of  many  nations  and  ages,  and  though 
all  the  sciences  of  nature  shall  be  as  familiar  to 
him  as  the  alphabet,  yet,  on  the  bed  of  mortal 
sickness  and  at  the  dying  hour,  passages  from 
the  Book  of  books  will  take  precedence  of  every 
thing  else.  The  incitements  to  trust,  the  con- 
firmations of  faith,  the  promises  to  hope,  pre- 
sented by  the  inspired  Word,  will  be  worth 
all  the  libraries  and  memorized  learning  of  the 
world.  How  many  of  the  earth's  mightiest  in 
wealth,  learning,  intellect,  and  genius,  have  at 
last  been  glad  to  repose  the  spirit  on  some  of 
the  Psalms,  as  the  wasted  and  sore  frame  might 
repose  on  the  couch  and  pillow  made  soft  and 
easy  by  the  hands  of  affection  !  How  have  they 
come  down  from  the  world's  pride  to  sit  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus  in  the  Gospels,  in  the  utmost  hum- 
bleness and  docility  ;  indeed,  to  cast  themselves 
upon  his  bosom  like  little  children  on  a  parent's 
breast,  believing  this  to  be  the  safest  place  for 
refuge  and  peace  ! 


NOTE  S. 


i. 

IT  was  the  author's  purpose  to  add  a  section  on  the  culture  of 
the  Conscience ;  but  the  space  left  was  found  quite  too  limited  for 
the  largeness  and  importance  of  the  topic.  This  point  of  discipline 
has  been  so  egregiously  neglected,  and  the  consequences  have  been 
so  enormously  destructive,  that  a  considerable  treatise,  instead  of  a 
few  pages,  seemed  requisite  to  do  it  justice.  In  fact,  in  the  effort  to 
prepare  the  article  intended,  the  subject  assumed  such  magnitude, 
it  ran  out  into  so  numerous  ramifications,  and  brought  to  view  such 
a  multitude  of  illustrative  incidents,  that  the  worker  wa«  over- 
whelmed with  his  materials,  and  knew  not  what  best  to  select  to 
make  the  necessary  abbreviation.  Friendly  readers  are  therefore 
besought  patiently  to  wait  for  a  much  better  service  than  could  be 
performed  at  the  close  of  a  volume  already  quite  too  large  for  con- 
venience in  these  crowded  times.  It  is  proposed,  Providence  favor- 
ing, to  present  at  a  future  opportunity,  in  a  separate  work,  some 
suggestions  on  Right  and  Wrong,  and  the  education  of  that  vice- 
gerent of  God,  and  sovereign  on  the  soul's  judgment-seat,  —  the 
Conscience. 

II. 

IN  a  note  at  the  bottom  of  page  17,  it  is  intimated  that  something 
would  be  said  about  meetings  for  educational  discussion  which  have 
been  held  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  After  that  note  was 
printed,  the  plan  of  the  work  was  considerably  changed,  so  that  an 
account  of  the  meetings  referred  to  was  necessarily  excluded.  Their 
practicability  and  valuable  use  will  be  considered  at  some  future 
time,  if  the  author  shall  be  permitted  to  carry  out  his  plans  of  pub- 
lication. He  would  take  this  opportunity  to  make  known,  that  he 
has  a  large  quantity  of  educational  matter  on  hand,  —  the  accumu- 
lation of  many  years,  —  which  he  hopes  to  present  eventually  for 
public  use. 


INDEX. 


Action,  attractive  to  infant  curiosity 215 

Adulteration  of  goods  remedied  by  education 150 

Advantage  of  good  judgment  as  to  size 160 

Agricultural  lessons 228 

Ambition  and  demagogism,  how  sometimes  originated     ...  82 

Amusing  the  baby 75 

An  abuse  of  nature 140 

Analogical  argument,  the  use  of  an 325-7 

Analogical  reasoning  about  love  to  God 296 

Anecdotes  and  incidents  in  illustration,  18,  29,  31,  35,  38,  47,  49,  58, 
86,  87,  90,  94,  100,  101,  107,  111,  118,  164,  167,  173,  180,  330,  351 

Animals,  knowledge  of 175 

Apparel  of  children,  abuse  and  use  of 87 

Appeal  to  the  parent  to  study  how  to  teacli 335 

Arithmetic,  where  and  how  it  should  begin I'M 

Had  companions,  how  to  keep  children  from 120 

Beating  clown  prices 'before  children 98 

Beginning  of  intellectual  development 135 

Benevolence  and  true  usefulness,  how  taught 103 

Best  end  of  the  bargain,  the  worst  end 98 

Bible,  child's  love  and  reverence  for  the 344 

Birds,  as  objects  of  interest  and  study 175 

Blessedness  of  love  toward  God 322 

Bodily  health  cared  for,  moral  health  neglected 20 

Books  on  family  education,  what  booksellers  say  of    ....  16 


360  INDEX. 

Page. 

Books,  use  of 272 

Books  explaining  nature,  mentioned  in  a  foot-note 182 

Boxes  and  shelves  in  the  schoolroom,  for  a  new  use    ....  142 

Brain,  care  of  the  health  of 76 

Business-men,  the  way  they  learn  arithmetic 210 

« 

Cabinet  of  minerals  begun  by  a  child 174 

Capacity  to  love  God  to  the  degree  expressed  in  the  command, 

analogically  presented 295 

Care  over  household  things,  how  taught 200 

Care  over  domestic  animals 202 

Care  of  infancy  and  childhood  considered  a  petty  business  .  .  21 

Casual  events,  notice  of 233 

Catalogue  of  petty  parental  inflictions 50 

Causality  and  its  questions 179 

Chanting  the  Holy  Word 350 

Cheapening  an  almanac,  amusing  instance  of 100 

Chief  purpose  of  this  world 3 

Child-traveller  after  curiosities 152 

Child  keeping  playthings  and  clothes  in  order 259 

Children's  interest  in  the  miracles 339 

Christmas-hymns 338 

Ciphering  with  real  profit  at  home 211 

City  young  man  and  the  country  preacher 87 

Clergyman's  children 130 

Closet-scene,  mother  and  child 48 

Clouds,  a  school-boy's  philosophy  about 180 

Color,  faculty  of,  how  cultivated 163 

Color-game 164 

Commandment,  the  first  and  great 293 

Commandment,  the  first  and  great,  disbelief  in  the  literal  truth 

of  the  language  of 293 

Committing  the  Scriptures  to  memory 292 

Commodities  at  home,  education  in 148 

Compass,  the  use  of,  in  education 189 

Companionship,  bad,  how  avoided 120 

Concentration,  power  of,  improved 207 

Conscience,  first  dawning  of 36 

Conscience,  discipline  of 244 

Contrast  in  a  child's  possibilities 3 


INDEX.  361 

Page. 

Convention  for  horses  and  poultry 17 

Corn,  beans,  and  peas,  as  exercises  in  counting 206 

Counting-game 108 

Creator,  first  knowledge  of 279 

Dangerous  exposure  of  the  young 19 

Dangers  of  modern  society 19 

Deceit  and  double-dealing  of  both  children  and  parents  .    .    .  102 

Defect  iu  personal  soundness  and  beauty,  care  against    ...  18 

Degree  in  which  we  can  love  God 298 

Democracy  in  the  family 39 

Dendrology  learned  incidentally 206 

Differences  between  one  person  and  another  in  noticing  inci- 
dents      216 

Discipline,  penal,  various  mild  forms  of 51 

Discipline,  how  it  may  begin 225 

Discipline  of  the  time-piece 253 

Dissipation  of  a  little  child 81 

Dissipation  of  youth  in  cities,  how  occasioned 85 

Distances,  learning  how  to  measure 190 

Distinguished  mineralogist,  how  he  first  became  interested  in 

his  science 173 

Distinguished  men 270 

Duplicity  and  deceit  in  bargains 97 

Earliest  object  of  a  child's  notice 163 

Early  moral  symptoms  fearfully  premonitory 22 

Early  attention  to  the  time-faculty 252 

Eating,  excessive,  destructive  effects  of,  on  children    ....  82 

Economy  and  saving,  practical  teaching  of 14'i 

Economical  idea 200 

Education   by   parents,  estimation   of,   compared   with   other 

interests 15 

English  nobility,  their  children's  food 83 

Entomology  for  the  young 177 

Errand-doing  on  all-fours 1"3 

Eventuality,  power  of 215 

Evil,  the  child's  capabilities  of 4 

Evils  of  society  traceable  to  parental  neglect 13 

Example  of  a  distinguished  parental  educator 33 


362  INDEX. 

Page. 

Faculty  of  individuality,  what  it  is,  and  how  cultivated  .    .    .  155 

Falsehoods,  people  inured  to  them,  and  submit 222 

Family  government,  some  have  a  natural  gift  for 37 

Family  ciphering 211 

Father  taking  pastime  with  his  children 230 

Father  and  mother  conjoined  in  religious  teaching 337 

Fictitious  literature  improved 237 

Fire  at  night,  readiness  to  escape 260 

Firmness,  culpable  lack  of,  in  the  parent 40 

Firmness  with  mildness  will  be  respected,  and  will  prevail  .     .  52 

Fishes  affording  mental  nutriment 178 

Florence  Nightingale,  her  philanthropy 69 

Flowers 166 

Food,  philosophy  of 79 

Foreigners  shocked  at  the  irreverence  and  unruliness  of  our 

youth 38 

Form,  faculty  of,  and  its  culture 158 

Fourth  of  July  celebrated  at  home 122 

Francis,  the  idiot 107 

Gatherings  for  any  thing  but  home-education 16 

Geography,  where  and  how  the  study  of,  should  begin     .     .     .  185 

Gifts,  as  tokens  for  affection 117 

God's  provision  for  the  child's  safety  and  culture 7 

God,  his  character 65,  67 

God,  name  of 280 

God,  name  of —  manner  of  speaking  it 284 

God,  qualities  and  attributes  of 285 

God  as  a  Father 286 

God  as  seen  in  various  objects  of  Nature 289 

Gossip,  together  with  imagination,  its  harmfulness 221 

Government,  grounds  of  parental 27 

Government,  first  occasion  for 27 

Grains,  observation  of 167 

Grandmother,  the  excuse  of  a,  for  her  daughter 44 

Help  of  boys  and  girls  in  a  family 104 

Henry  Ware,  jun.,  extracts  from  his  hymn  on  prayer      .      315,  316 

Hiring  children  to  obey 45 

History  of  the  divine  dealings 310 


INDEX.  363 

Page. 

Holy  Spirit  aiding  religious  love 332 

Holj'  Spirit,  different  operations  of 328 

Holy  Spirit,  interesting  case  of  individual  experience     .    .    .  329 

Home,  how  a  new,  may  be  considered 11 

Honor  and  honesty 101 

Honorable,  a  singular  use  of  the  title 101 

Household  lessons  in  eventuality 226 

How  not  to  get  lost 188 

Hymu  from  Dr.  Watts 310 

Idle  young  men  and  young  women 105 

Infantile  impulses 28 

Infantile  activity 150 

Ignorance  of  the  names  and  natures  of  trees 169 

Individualizing  faculty  improved  by  counting  objects      .     .     .  207 

Individualizing 155 

Industrial  efforts  of  a  little  child 139 

Insight  into  various  trades  and  pursuits 229 

Insect  curiosities 176 

Instance  of  a  child's  keen  observation 109 

Instinct  of  the  brute  parent  never  abused 40 

Instinctive  human  parental  love,  use  and  abuse  of 40 

Instinctive  observation  in  a  child 232 

Intellect,  premature  awakening  of 73 

Intellect,  disproportionate  strength  and  activity  of 75 

Inventories  and  appraisals  of  property;  to  make  them,  how 

taught 204 

Irish  woman's  terrible  threat  to  her  child 49 

Irreverence,  growing,  among  the  young 38 

Jesus,  the  child's  first  idea  of 335 

John  Quincy  Adams,  his  going-to-sleep  verse 317 

Judgment  as  to  the  quantities  of  things,  how  improved   .     .     .  199 

Judgment,  how  a  good,  comes 268 

Knowledge,  how  a  child  gets  much  of,  without  books  ....  137 

Knowledge  of  wood  and  timber  important,  and  how  obtained   .  171 

Language  of  the  Scripture?,  influence  of,  in  the  child's  me- 
mory      290 


364  INDEX. 

Page. 

Lawrence,  Amos,  his  love  of  doing  good 68 

Leaves,  different  kinds  of 170 

Letter,  Rev.  Mr.  Northrop's,  on  object-teaching 274 

Lies  and  scandals,  how  they  may  originate  and  grow  ....  220 

Literature  in  certain  emergencies 353 

Little  girl  helping  her  mother  in  a  peculiar  way 164 

Living  creatures  compared  with  pictures,  as  objects  of  interest 

to  children 175 

Lofty  hymn  and  grand  old  tune,  their  power 342 

Loss  and  gain 146 

Love  and  labor  for  others,  genuine  happiness  of 65 

Love  to  the  neighbor,  philosophy  of 69 

Love  to  God,  means  of  development  of 302 

Man,  his  capabilities  and  possibilities 3 

Manufacturing  lessons 228 

Maps,  what  the  mind's  eye  should  see  on  them 195 

Maternal  associations  (foot-note) 17 

Maternal  self-possession  illustrated 125 

Meal-time  punishment 129 

Measuring  implements  for  children 159 

Measuring  time  by  the  sun 253 

Melody  of  some  Bible-names 349 

Memorial  of  the  heavenly  Father 312 

Mental  hospitality 131 

Microscope  for  family  use 177 

Minerals,  children's  knowledge  of 172 

Minute  traits  of  a  landscape  to  be  observed 186 

Mischief,  the  child's  work;  use  of  it 29 

Missionaries,  where  they  should  begin 110 

Money,  early  love  and  abuse  of 93 

Moon  and  stars,  medium  of  religious  instruction 228 

Mother's  blessedness  in  her  babe 67 

Mother's  toil  for  the  child's  pleasure 42 

Nation,  present  state  of  our,  and  why  so 242 

Nature's  works  and  ways  to  be  noticed 231 

Neatness,  personal 262 

Neglect  of  parental  preparation  for  the  child's  training    ...  12 

New  intellectual  discipline 223 


INDEX.  3G5 

Page. 

News  of  all  sorts,  craving  appetite  for;  its  effect 230 

New-Testament  attractions 291 

No  and  yes  of  the  weak  parent 40 

Nothing  to  do  as  a  punishment 62 

Number  of  criminals  in  the  United  States 14 

Number,  the  relation  of,  considered 196 

Object-game 156 

Object-teaching,  letter  from  the  Agent  of  the  Massachusetts 

Board  of  Education 274 

Obligation,  peculiar,  of  parents  for  their  children's  spiritual 

welfare 323 

Observing  faculties,  hints  toward  the  early  culture  of  .  .  .  .  150 

Observation,  actual,  practical  advantage  of 194 

Observing  power,  differences  in  the 216 

Old  people's  facetious  complaint 39 

Old  merchant  busy  still 106 

Order,  special  faculty  of 256 

Order,  how  to  discipline  it 258 

Order  in  household  mutters 261 

Order  in  boys 262 

Our  Father  in  heaven  as  a  title  of  the  Creator 286 

Out-doors 202 

Parents  may  get  learning  from  little  children 154 

Parents'  opportunity  for  training  the  child  to  love  God    .     .     .  323 

Parents  both  united  in  the  religious  training  of  their  child  .     .  336 

Parentage,  solemn  responsibility  of 7 

Partisan  calumnies  checked  by  what  means 241 

Pattern  mother's  weakness 47 

Perceptive  faculties,  general  remarks  on 206 

Persian  bishop's  remark  to  a  young  lady 38 

Persevere  till  you  subdue  an  offender 52 

Phenomena  of  Nature  instructive  to  children 179 

Philanthropic  little  boys Ill 

Picture  of  neglected  morals 13 

Pictures  of  animals  delightful  to  infants     ....'...  175 

Place,  or  geography  at  home 155 

Playthings  and  clothes,  care  of 259 

Poetry,  religious 309 


366  INDEX. 

Page. 

Points  of  the  compass  to  be  learned 188 

Poor  imposed  on  in  trade  —  new  remedy  for  it 145 

Prayer,  private 315 

Prayer  for  ability  to  love  God 320 

Prayerful  hymn 325 

Prevalent  ignorance  about  natural  phenomena *•.  180 

Pride  of  position  at  school 89 

Primary  selfishness 71 

Promptitude,  disastrous  lack  of 251 

Providential  pre-arrangement  for  parental  government    ...  35 

Public  movements  and  spectacles 235 

Punctuality  as  to  promises 250 

Punishment,  corporal 50 

Psalms  and  Prophets,  their  allusions  to  God's  works  and  ways  .  290 

Rat  and  mouse  made  something  of 176 

Beading,  its  multifariousness 15 

Reason  why  not  always  to  be  given 35 

Recollections,  vivid  ones  important 269 

Record  of  failings  and  amendments,  its  peculiar  advantage  .    .  53 

Reform  in  newspapers 240 

Relation  of  the  earthly  parent  to  the  heavenly  Parent      ...  55 

Religious  relations  of  the  parent  to  the  child 55 

Religious  faculties  must  be  used  to  be  developed 305 

Religious  remembrances,  interesting  case  of 58 

Religious  experiences 328 

Remarkable  instance  of  a  mother's  influence 58 

Republic,  a  monarchy  the  foundation  of  a 40 

Resort  of  earth's  mightiest  at  last 353 

Resource  for  the  lonely  night-watches 353 

Rocks,  peculiar  and  beautiful  objects  of  nature 173 

Rosary  of  the  Church  universal 308 

Rules  overruled  in  parental  weakness,  —  consequences    ...  30 

Russian  czars,  the  children  of,  as  to  luxuries 84 

Sabbath-worship,  fidelity  in  performing 318 

Sacred  writings  committed  to  memory 347 

Sailors'  power  of  sight 157 

Sanctuary,  the  "  common  school "  of  religion 319 

Scales  for  children's  use  ....                                         .    .  162 


INDEX.  367 

Page. 

School-girl's  amusing  notion  about  clouds  nnd  rain      ....  180 

Schooling  which  is  profitable 142 

Seeing  things  and  actions,  and  describing  them  just  as  they  are  223 

Selfishness,  how  children  are  trained  to 70 

Selfishness,  education  a  cause  of 92 

Self-love,  how  strengthened  from  the  beginning 72 

Setting  the  table,  occasion  of  a  lesson 220 

Shells,  what  might  be  done  with,  on  a  winter's  day     ....  178 

Showing  off  a  child's  learning 92 

Sick  little  boy,  the  beautiful  play  of 113 

Sickness,  how  solaced  and  refreshed , .    .     .     .  353; 

Sister  at  baby-tending  endangered 78 

Singular  birthday  present  from  a  child 118 

Size,  faculty  of,  how  cultivated 159- 

Snakes  and  worms,  scientifically  reputable 176 

Spoiled  child,  what  he  does 42 

Stage-coach  ride  with  a  school-girl 167 

Star,  child's  first  impression  of 288 

Stratagem  and  deception  in  family  government 45 

Stones  by  the  wayside,  objects  of  interest 174 

Stones  in  the  walls 174 

Style  of  living  as  an  occasion'  of  vanity  and  pride 88 

Success  in  life,  early  preparation  for ft 

Sun,  the  first  object  by  which  to  convey  the  idea  of  God     .     .  281 

Sun,  illustrating  what  a  parent  should  be 53 

Swapping  among  boys 97 

Sympathy  wanted  by  the  infant 163 

Table,  children  at 127 

Tasteful  dress  for  a  child 88 

Temper  of  a  child  injured  by  over-eating 85 

Temper,  irritability  of,  in  parent  and  child 123 

Things  not  to  be  touched  by  a  child 152 

Things  should  go  with  words  in  teaching  a  child  to  count    .     .  197 

Threat,  horribly  ludicrous 48 

Threatening,  and  not  performing 47 

Throne,  the  strongest,  in  all  the  world;  what  it  is 8 

Time,  faculty  of,  discipline  in  regard  to 248 

Time  wasted  in  talk 249 

Tour  of  the  room  by  a  child  on  all-fours 29 


368  INDEX. 

Page. 

Trees,  knowledge  of 168 

Trying  to  govern,  time  foolishly  spent  in 44 

Turning  over  a  new  leaf  by  the  mother 31 

Two  beings  who  cannot  be  escaped 246 

Two  individuals  chosen  out  of  a  thousand  millions     ....  11 

Unimportant  incidents,  the  use  of,  in  training 234 

Unmannerly  children  at  table 127 

Vanity  in  apparel £7 

Various  aspects  of  Nature  generally  as  to  color 165 

Vegetable  appearances  particularly 166 

Victoria  and  the  royal  heirs 83 

Why  people  are  so  ignorant  of  Nature •    .    .  181 

Watts's  Divine  Songs 309 

Weight,  faculty  of,  how  cultivated 161 

Well-governed  child,  how  happy  he  is 44 

Wild  youth,  whither  sent  for  correction 32 

Willis,  extract  from  a  poem  of 288 

Witness  in  a  court-room 219 

Where  family  order  or  disorder  usually  begins 28 

Whipping,  with  what  spirit  it  should  be  done,  if  necessary  .     .  50 

Who  most  benefited  by  a  favor 66 

Wonder,  a  faculty  of  the   child  exercised  in  respect  to  the 

miracles  and  life  of  Jesus 339 

Word  of  God,  its  vitalizing  and  uplifting  influence 351 

Worker,  the  Infinite  One 105 

Worship,  social,  domestic,  and  public 317 

Worship,  philosophy  of 313 

Worth  of  character,  admirable  example  in  respect  to  ....  00 

Wrong-doer  sent  to  bed  in  the  daytime 52 


Boston:   Printed  by  John  Wilson  &  Son. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY,  LOS  ANGELES 
EDUCATION  AND  PSYCHOLOGY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


Form  L9-20rr,-8,'71  (P6343s8)4939A-3,59 


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